


Art and Archaeology

by AliceBDS



Category: Star Wars (Marvel Comics), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Drama, F/F, Light Dom/sub, Loss of Virginity, Oral Sex, Past Chelli Lona Aphra/Original Female Character(s), Porn With Plot, Post-Star Wars: A New Hope, Post-Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Sex Toys, Sexual Roleplay, Strap-Ons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-02-23 21:16:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13198722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceBDS/pseuds/AliceBDS
Summary: When Sabine is sent on an important Rebel Alliance intelligence mission, she meets a mysterious archaeologist with a knack for getting herself into trouble.





	1. Nar Shaddaa

Sabine Wren waited, considering whether she wanted to risk another shot of booze to relieve her boredom.

She had been in this seedy dive bar on Nar Shaddaa for two standard hours and the informant still hadn't shown. She considered contacting the _Ghost_ , but with so much criminal activity in the vicinity, not to mention the Empire, it was risky making an open transmission. So she waited.

So much had happened over the last year, and it was those events, both good and bad, that floated in her head as she considered taking another drink. The Rebel Alliance had successfully destroyed the Death Star, the Empire's most diabolical achievement, but at great cost. And in the year since, the Rebels had been on the run, chased from planet to moon to nebula, with increasing casualties and little to show for it.

The bar was dimly lit, with scumbags of a variety of species milling around. She heard a glass shatter as someone, no doubt, smashed it over someone else's head. She cringed a bit. This was not her element, and she realized that her distinctive Mandalorian armor made her stick out like a neon-colored bantha in a herd.

 It was right after she made the decision to pound back the shot that the girl appeared next to her.

"Wow, _somebody_ seems really happy to be here! What's your poison, sweetheart?"

Sabine nearly choked on the drink from surprise. The woman was a few years older than herself, dressed like a mercenary or smuggler, with a cap and goggles and distinctive electro-tattoos running up her right arm. Despite her rugged clothing and demeanor, however, she had a pretty face, with soft features.

Sabine quickly pushed that thought out of her mind. She wasn't here for smalltalk; she needed to keep her wits about her.

"Sorry, I'm not in the mood," she blurted, more aggressively than she had intended.

"Oh, that's great. I was hoping we could jump right to the fun part." The mystery girl wiggled her eyebrows in a comically suggestive fashion that would have made Sabine laugh if it hadn't, instead, caused her cheeks to burn.

"I-I'm sorry?" she stuttered, trying to pretend she didn't know what the girl was suggesting.

"You know, the fun part, where I take you back to my ship and we do all kinds of freaky stuff and then I leave and never see you again. You down?"

 Sabine could only stare in silence. Nobody had ever so overtly tried to hit on her, certainly not another woman, and she should be offended by the girl's brash attitude. But instead, and maybe it was the alcohol's doing, she found that the burning sensation in her cheeks had intensified, and her eyes were fixed on the young woman's lips. The mystery woman reached out and touched Sabine's hand, and she felt a spark of adrenaline through her body.

"I'm supposed to be waiting for somebody," Sabine mumbled, barely audible over the voices in the bar.

"That's me, sweetheart. I'm all you've been waiting for." She leaned in close, a coy little smirk on her face, and Sabine felt dizzy and finally admitted it to herself:

_She is so kriffing pretty._

Her mind blurred by the drinks and her sudden, pounding desire for this girl, Sabine slowly and silently stood up. Her new friend, grinning from ear to ear, led her out the front door. They said nothing.

 As they slipped down an alleyway, the girl turned back to Sabine, before looking over her shoulder.

"Okay, good. No bucketheads here. Listen, that bar's been bugged by the Empire for six months. It wasn't safe to talk in there."

Sabine's head spun with confusion, and she could only blurt out a "What?"

"I'm the contact you were waiting for! Doctor Aphra, pleased to meet you." She extended her hand, and Sabine shook it feebly.

"I told you in the bar, I'm who you were waiting for! Didn't that princess or whoever gave you your orders tell you about me? I've had a few run-ins with you guys, but right now I'm not looking for any Imperial trouble, so I agreed to their price. Info on those shipments, right? Here you go!"

Aphra extended a datapad, but Sabine, still confused and embarrassed, just stood there. Finally, after a few seconds, Aphra chuckled.

"Oh, wait a second... oh damn, you thought we were going to actually..." Then she bust out laughing, and Sabine's face turned beat red.

"This isn't funny! The Rebellion is at stake!" Sabine shoved Aphra backwards several steps. She was still smiling.

"Hey, I meant what I said. You're cute as hell when you're angry. And I've got some time to kill... you wanna?"

Sabine shook her head violently. "No! You're... scum! Some two-bit mercenary or bounty hunter, right? Take your payment and get out of here!"

For just a second, the cocky expression disappeared from Aphra's face, replaced by what looked like a frown. But she quickly resumed her uncaring disposition.

"All right, I'll leave. But if I do, you'll never get to see the _super secret information_ I've got on my ship."

Sabine narrowed her eyes. "Seriously? How dumb do you think I am?"

"Well, based on your loadout there I'm pretty sure you can handle yourself. I'm serious. I've got some info the Rebellion might like. Just take a look, okay?"

* * *

 

Sabine followed Aphra through the maze of back alleys to an unregistered port where a ship was docked. Aboard the ship, Aphra fumbled through some boxes, looking for something.

"So what is it that you do, besides ripping off the Rebel Alliance?" Sabine asked.

"I'm an archaeologist!" Aphra shouted, pride in her voice, as she rifled through some drawers. "I dig up old stuff. It's pretty great, looking at all that ancient history."

Sabine was, for a moment, impressed. "That's actually kind of interesting. Do you give these things to museums?"

Aphra turned around and gave a very fake laugh. "Ha! You're cute _and_ funny _and_ you can fight? Where have you been all my life?"

Sabine let out an exasperated sigh. Aphra produced another datapad from a drawer. "So a guy owed me a favor, long story, but basically I acquired this info from a moff about an upcoming 'purge,' if you catch my drift, on a planet where the Rebellion was previously active. I'm not sure which planet, but I'm sure you guys can cross-reference it with your stuff and get those people to safety."

Sabine considered it. "That could save a lot of lives. What's the price? I don't have a lot to bargain with. I'd have to go back to my sh--"

Aphra cut her off. "It's free. Take it. Sorry for leading you on earlier."

Sabine took the datapad and sat it aside. "That's... thanks. I'll get this to Rebel command as soon as I can."

Surprised that this encounter had gone better than expected, Sabine slowly turned back towards the exit, but paused when Aphra spoke again.

"You're Sabine Wren, right?"

Sabine whipped around, suddenly on guard. Aphra had stood up and moved a bit closer, eyeing her and smiling softly.

"The Mandalorian armor and the hair. The Empire's got it out for you! I've heard a bit about you. You're the artist, right? You spraypaint the Empire's stuff?"

Sabine slowly nodded. "Yeah. Art is my thing. It lets me... I don't know, express myself against the tyranny of the Empire? It sounds dumb when I say it out loud."

"No it doesn't! That's great!" Aphra smiled, and Sabine thought it might be genuine. "Art is great! Expression is great! All great things!" She motioned around the stark walls of the ship. "I've been wanting to make this place a bit more personal myself. Grey is awfully boring. I just got this ship; my old one blew up."

"Really?" Sabine asked, "What happened?"

Aphra rolled her eyes. "It's a long story, but basically I was on Vrogas Vas and there was this guy, he was a Mon Calamari cyborg with a bunch of lightsabers, and I rammed my ship into him and ejected. It was great. He's dead now."

Sabine found herself entranced as Aphra told the story; her face was so animated. It was as if she had some kind of magnetic charisma that made Sabine want to listen to every word she said. But she only laughed and said "You're full of it."

"I'm not! It really happened! Ask your Rebel friends!" Aphra waved her arms, and for a second both girls were grinning like idiots. It was several more seconds of silence before Sabine spoke, and the words left her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Why do you do this? Why not join the Rebels?"

Aphra shook her head. "I'm not a freedom fighter, sweetheart. I just want to make a few credits and have some fun before I inevitably get sucked into a black hole or swallowed by a sarlacc or something."

She had stopped making eye contact with Sabine and was absentmindedly moving her finger around the edges of a table, and for a moment it seemed like she had let her guard down.

"That's not a great way to live your life," Sabine said softly.

"What do you care?" Aphra laughed, her shields back up. "I'm a two-bit mercenary, remember? You get to be the hero."

Sabine didn't know what to say. She still didn't trust this woman and yet...

"You should get that info back to your people," blurted Aphra, interrupting Sabine's thoughts.

"Yeah... right. Thanks, doctor."

Sabine slowly turned and stepped down the boarding ramp, exiting the ship. Aphra waved her goodbye, and the ramp retracted. As it did, Sabine heard Aphra shout.

"See you around, sweetheart!"

Her cheeks burned again, and then the ship took off into the grimy atmosphere.


	2. Canto Bight

"The intel checks out," Leia said, setting the datapad aside. "We've dispatched Rogue Squadron to oversee an evacuation of the civilians. And we should be intercepting those shipments within two standard days."

Sabine was standing in the command center in the Rebel base on Hoth, surrounded by the green glow of technical readouts. Two weeks ago, Sabine had obtained information about a Rebel-affiliated planet that was going to be razed by the Empire. She should be proud of herself for helping save so many lives. Instead, all she could think about was that beautiful, frustratingly arrogant young woman who had provided her the information.

Leia motioned to one of the screens. "One of our Fulcrum agents has received another message from an informant, but they insisted that you be the one to make the rendezvous."

"Why me? I barely have any intelligence experience."

"It's the same informant, the one who gave you the intel about the civilians. For security reasons they've chosen to remain anonymous--"

It clicked in Sabine's head.  _Her_. Of course.

"Does it have to be me?" she asked. "I'm not so great at this espionage stuff." The truth was that she hated the way that girl made her feel -- the burning in her cheeks, the feeling like she was being dared to do something out of bounds...and the idea that she might like it if she did.

"Many of our informants will only meet with select Rebel operatives," Leia explained. "They're more trusting of someone if they have a pre-existing relationship."

Words quickly spilled from Sabine's mouth. "Well we don't-- I mean, there's no-- I wouldn't, it's not, there's no  _relationship_ per se, I mean we're not even friends--"

A console began to flash. "I'm sorry Sabine, I'm needed in the hangar," Leia said. "The contact expects a meeting within twelve hours."

As Leia moved towards the door, Sabine called out. "Wait! I don't even know where I'm going!"

The princess smiled. "I think you'll enjoy it. Have you ever been to Canto Bight?"

* * *

Sabine landed the ship and sat in the cockpit for some time, thinking things through. She'd taken a cargo freighter to Cantonica, as the planet was overflowing with Imperial sympathizers and the  _Ghost_ was too recognizable. Canto Bight was an upscale city -- Sabine had been required to pay for parking! -- and her garish Mandalorian armor wouldn't cut it here. Luckily, she'd been provided with a dress. High fashion wasn't exactly her thing.

After styling her hair -- or rather, messing around with it while growling with frustration for a few minutes -- Sabine stepped off the freighter and went towards the casino, trying not to accidentally kill herself while walking in heels. Why in the blazes had Aphra wanted them to meet  _here_?

Entering the casino, Sabine looked around, but couldn't spot Aphra anywhere. Leia had not given her any instructions at all as to what she was supposed to be doing, other than that her contact would be at the casino. It  _was_ Aphra, right? Maybe some old friend from Lothal or Mandalore had tried to get in touch? Sabine tried to ignore the little voice in the back of her head that was secretly hoping she'd get to see that devilish smile again.

Almost as soon as that thought entered her mind, the smile she'd been thinking of appeared before her.

"Sabine Wren! How wonderful to see you again!"

Aphra had shouted those words so loudly that despite the chaos of the casino, her voice likely carried across three star systems. Besides the smile, Aphra was almost unrecognizable: she'd ditched the vest, pants, and cap and replaced them with a knee-length gold dress with cut outs at the waistline, suggestively revealing her hips. Her previously messy shoulder-length hair had been replaced with a wig with long bangs and blue highlights. She'd even put on fake eyelashes!

"Can you try not shouting my name to the Emperor himself? And why do you look like you raided your mother's dresser?"

For just a moment, the beaming smile on Aphra's face flickered, just for a second. But Sabine caught it. And then it was back.

"Shut your pretty mouth, sweetheart. I'm the best dressed rogue archaeologist in this place. Now stand over here and look hot while I pretend I have enough credits to--"

"The information, Aphra. You asked for me specifically. I've got a lot of business for the Rebellion I need to get done."

Aphra snickered. "Yeah, lots of Rebel insignias to spray on boxes. Do you ever just get out and have fun?"

"Fun?" Sabine tried to lower her voice. There were ears everywhere. "You realize there's a war going on, right?"

"Of course. How do you think every fat-cat in here got rich? War is good business! And it's never ending, so there's no real hurry."

Sabine shook her head. "This is not a game to me. Just...tell me the intel so I can get out of here."

Aphra looked genuinely disappointed, but Sabine tried to brush it off. Whenever she thought she was getting fond of this girl, Aphra would find a way to ruin it.

"Well, sweetheart, have I got some great news for you!"

* * *

It was not great news.

"Let me get this straight," Sabine said, trying to keep her composure as the two women stood out on a quiet side street. "The information is in a sealed vault in some guy's apartment and you want me to break in there? So you  _don't actually have it_?"

"No, no!" Aphra insisted, "I want you to  _slice_ in there and then I'll break in and steal it. You've got to pay attention to the nitty-gritty details on these heists."

"Why can't you do this? Can't you slice a door terminal?"

"This guy's an Imperial weapons manufacturer. He's got weapons-grade security. But I have it on good authority the Alliance has override codes for this sector."

Sabine slapped her face with her palm. "I can't use those override codes without giving away that the Alliance was here. Breaking into a private citizen's home on a sovereign planet? Did you think any of this through?!"

Aphra shrugged. "I don't think anything through, sweetheart. That's actually my middle name. Doctor Doesn't-Think-Anything-Through Aphra." There was an awkward pause. "No, it's not. It's Lona."

Sabine thought for a while.

When she looked up from the cobbled streets, Aphra was giving her the most adorable, most sheepish smile, like a baby with a hand in the cookie jar. Sabine felt that burning sensation in her cheeks again.

"Is this your attempt at convincing me?"

"Is it working?"

_Karabast_ , Sabine thought.

* * *

The target's apartment was on an upper level of the city. Sabine and Aphra, still in their casino dresses, were examining the door. Reluctantly, Sabine drew a datacard and inserted it into the slot on the door where the owner would, ordinarily, insert his identification. After several tense seconds, the door clicked and opened.

"I swear, Aphra," Sabine whispered, "This better be worth the price I just paid. For your sake."

"Your thinly-veiled threat is kind of turning me on," Aphra whispered back.

They stepped past the threshold into the apartment and, as Aphra had promised, found it empty. Immediately, the archaeologist went to work accessing a wall safe. Sabine noted the lack of windows and other possible breach points in the apartment. Aphra popped open the safe and removed a datacard.

"Here we go. Now we need to rough the place up a bit. The idea is to make it look like you Rebel scum were searching for weapons intel."

As Aphra kicked over a bedside stand, Sabine took the datacard from her hand. "What is this?"

"According to my source? This guy's probes recently ran a scan of the Hoth system. I don't know why, but the source told me that if the Empire examined the data closely, the Rebels would be none too pleased."

Sabine shivered. Getting this intel away from the Empire would avert their eyes, prevent a sneak attack, and buy the Rebels more time at their new base. Aphra didn't know it, but she'd just saved the Alliance's neck.

As Aphra was finishing her ransacking, tearing aside bedsheets and taking paintings off the walls, Sabine noticed a flashing indicator light near the comm interface. "Aphra, what is this?"

Aphra glanced over at her. "It would appear to be some sort of security dev... _ohhh_."

As soon as the words left her mouth, floodlights appeared through the doorway.

" _This is Canto Bight police! Exit the domicile with your hands up!_ "

" _Blast_ _!_ " Aphra exclaimed. "I have no weapons! Okay, we can still play this off like a robbery--"

But Sabine had already lept into action, drawing a thermal detonator from under her dress. It had been strapped to a special pouch around her thigh. She pressed it against the back wall. During her search of the room, she had determined that this wall, above street level, was also the least structurally reinforced.

She and Aphra ducked behind the bed, and Sabine pressed the small trigger in her hand.  _KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!_

The resulting hole in the wall was small, but big enough for the pair to slip through. On the other side was a sheer ten foot drop. As both women were trained in this sort of thing, there was no need to state the obvious: drop and roll.

Sabine tossed aside her heels and jumped out of the hole, followed by Aphra. They hit the ground hard, but unharmed. As they raced down the streets, Aphra motioned to Sabine's dress. "You got any other fun toys in there, sweetheart?"

They darted through a side street and found themselves in a back alley, one that was covered in grime. Several homeless youths were sleeping under sheets of crumpled paper. Sabine paused.

"Sabine, come on!" Aphra called, the floodlights from the Canto Bight police closing in. Sabine knew there was nothing the Alliance could do for these kids -- not now, anyway. But she could remind them that there were people out there who were keeping them in their thoughts.

Grabbing a stick from the trash heaps, Sabine drew a Rebel starbird insignia in the dust, and below it, four Aurebesh characters: H O P E.

A brave young woman had once said rebellions were built on hope. Sabine wanted these children to know it too.

She raced after Aphra down the alley.

* * *

Several minutes later, the girls had managed to make it back to Aphra's ship, which she had illegally parked on a beach nearby. They were out of breath and their feet were sore, but they were alive. Sabine allowed a moment of euphoria to flow through her.

"You hear that, Canto Bight? You hear that, Empire? You just got played by Sabine Wren and Doctor Aphra!" She made sure to scream it loud enough for the Emperor to hear her.

"Wait, it just occurred to me that I don't know your actual name. I assume Aphra is your family name, right?"

Aphra, still catching her breath, gave a little laugh. "Nope! Aphra is my one and only name. Just a single mysterious name, like Yoda. Do you even know who Yoda was? I don't know what they teach you kids in school anymore."

Sabine giggled. "That's a load of poodoo. You said your middle name was Lona."

Aphra's face went grim, and she spoke seriously. "Ah...but that was just another part of my clever ruse to gain your trust."

There was a silence for a few seconds, and then both of them burst into laughter. Sabine let it all out. It had been a long time since she'd felt like this, like she could just let the weight of the war off her shoulders for a few minutes and trust another being with her genuine emotions.

And it was probably just the adrenaline coursing through her, but that was when some force compelled her to reach out and grab Aphra's cute, stupid face and kiss her.

It felt like it lasted an eternity, pressing her lips against Aphra's and finding herself surprised at how soft they were for someone so rough, and how it seemed like Aphra was genuinely surprised for a moment before she started to return the kiss. Sabine closed her eyes and let go of everything. For that moment, it was just the two of them.

As they slowly pulled away, after ten seconds or maybe ten years, it was only when Aphra gently touched Sabine's hand that she suddenly blushed yet again.

"Chelli," Aphra whispered.

"What?"

"My name. Chelli." Aphra looked away. "Nobody calls me that, though. I don't know why I'm telling you this."

Sabine smiled. "I like it."

There was another long silence. In truth, Sabine had never actually gone "this far" before. Other than smooching boys on Krownest as a kid, this was the first time she'd genuinely kissed another person.

Thankfully, Aphra piped up. "Well, I guess you've gotta get back to your super secret Rebel base," and for a second Sabine considered blurting out "Hoth," but she didn't.

"Yeah...yeah. Thanks. Thank you," she stumbled.

Aphra gave her that cocky smile. "Wow, I'm so great at kissing that I get a thank you! Leave me a review on the holonet, will you?"

"For the information. The Rebellion will find this very valuable."

Aphra gave her a little salute as the ramp to her ship extended. "Until next time, Sabine Wren."

Sabine returned the gesture. "Until next time, Ch...Doctor Aphra."

As she walked back to her own ship, her bare feet bruised and her dress torn, Sabine tried, and failed, to suppress a smile.

Whenever she thought she was getting sick of this girl, Aphra would find a way to win her back.


	3. Naboo

"Once again, as a Mandalorian warrior I have every right to wear this armor."

"Well yeah, but that doesn't mean it doesn't creep me out!"

Sabine gritted her teeth. This was at least the third time she had argued about this with Han. The renegade smuggler had jumped when Sabine turned a corner and had dropped a box on his foot. Han was being pursued by the notorious Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett, he explained, and Sabine was personally insulting him by "wandering around" in "his" armor. Sabine had politely explained that Fett was not a genuine Mandalorian, but a pretender in stolen armor. Her politeness was running out.

Chewbacca, who had appeared at the scene of the argument, growled something that made Han spin around. "I'm not being a baby! I just want to make sure I don't accidentally shoot the poor girl's head off!"

Sabine wanted to say that she could probably take Han in a fight, but she dropped the issue. Leia had requested her in the comm room again; there were more important matters to deal with than a paranoid smuggler.

As she entered the main hub, Leia confirmed what Sabine had been hoping to hear for the last few days. "Sabine, your anonymous contact got in touch again."

Sabine felt her heartrate pick up. She was embarrassed to admit to herself how good it had felt spending time with Aphra on Canto Bight... or how good it felt to kiss her. Leia informed her that her "contact" was in the Naboo system and had provided no other details about the mission, other than insisting, again, that Sabine be the one to take the assignment. Trying to contain her excitement and remain professional, Sabine thanked Leia and headed to the X-Wing she had been provided.

* * *

 A short time later, Sabine dropped out of hyperspace and saw the _Ark Angel_ near one of Naboo's moons. She pulled up alongside it, secured her space gear, and opened the cockpit. The _Ark Angel_ 's ramp descended and Sabine floated inside. As the door closed behind her and gravity and oxygen were restored, Sabine removed her helmet and checked her hair on a reflective surface. A familiar voice piped up behind her.

"Well hello there! Is that a certain blue-haired cutie I spy on my ship?"

"Yeah it is, and you're lucky. The Alliance almost sent somebody else." It wasn't true, of course, but Sabine didn't want Aphra to know how quickly she'd jumped at the chance to be around her again.

"Well, I would have blasted anybody else, so I guess they're lucky too. You didn't think I'd gone soft and joined your stupid cause, did you?"

Sabine smiled. "Don't make me cuff you and bring you back to base, criminal."

"As much as I might enjoy that -- and I would -- we have more pressing things requiring our attention." She gave Sabine a wink, and she felt that familiar heat between her legs. The two women went to the cockpit, and Aphra flew past the Imperial Star Destroyer in orbit, flashing a forged transponder code that got them to Naboo's surface.

"I would have expected more Imperial presence on the Emperor's homeworld," Sabine wondered aloud as the _Ark Angel_ landed at a docking port outside Theed.

"Oh, don't let your eyes deceive you. The Empire is everywhere here. They just don't want a bunch of ships and gun emplacements to ruin the picturesque landscapes." Aphra pulled out a backpack, and they exited the ship. "Also, the Naboo still have a sore spot when it comes to blockades."

"So what exactly are we here for? Stealing some intel from a moff? Planting a tracker?"

Aphra grinned. "Oh, far more important."

* * *

 "You're kidding me."

Sabine and Aphra were standing in a field overlooking a crevasse. The fissure was filled with large stone objects, at least fifty feet tall, that resembled humanoid heads.

Aphra removed her backpack and began looking through it. "Before humans showed up, the Gungans co-existed with another species, known only as the Elders. The Imperials have placed this area off-limits for archaeological digs. So naturally, we're gonna see if there's anything good."

"And then sell it?" Sabine rolled her eyes. "This is what you needed me for? Plundering some Gungan artifacts?"

Aphra raised a finger. "Elder artifacts. Nobody cares about Gungan artifacts. No offense to the Gungans, but they're not really the galaxy's most popular species. But the Elders, on the other hand...so little is known of their civilization and culture. Even before the Empire, the Naboo government wouldn't let anybody in here." She pulled out a pair of clunky boots and strapped them over the ones she was already wearing.

"Aphra, the Rebellion is stretched thin. They need my help. I can't just take a day off to go tomb raiding."

Aphra activated the boots, and began slowly hovering a few inches off the ground. "You've come this far, and if you want to leave, good luck getting past the Imperials again. I guess you're stuck with me. And besides, I've helped you out a lot. You owe me."

Sabine gave an exaggerated groan and watched as Aphra hovered off the side off the cliff, preparing to descend.

"Oh, and... that was _you_ who kissed me the other day, right? My memory is so foggy sometimes."

She gave a little salute and then floated down into the canyon, and Sabine knew her own mind was already made up. _Dammit, Aphra_.

* * *

 "Mother of moons!"

Aphra held up a small object that resembled a person. They were inside one of the massive stone heads, around twenty feet in diameter, with only the light from outside pouring through the statue's eyes and nose to guide them.

"Do you know what this is?"

Sabine shrugged.

"Yeah, neither do I. But if I had to guess, it's some kind of fertility idol." Aphra got closer, pushing the artifact into Sabine's hands. "Do you see the little figure in its hands? At least I think it's a figure. It could just be a bundle of clothes. Maybe it's a clothing idol."

As Aphra rambled, Sabine tried to ignore how close they were, or the fact that she loved the smell of the other girl's hair. "Just about all the research we have says the Elders died out after some kind of sterility plague, around ten thousand years ago. But this idol is definitely only a few thousand years old at most. Do you know what this means?!"

Aphra's enthusiasm was infectious. Sabine pondered the question. "It means they were still around a few thousand years ago, having children."

"Exactly! There was no plague. Or maybe there was, but it happened more recently. Some kind of Gungan bioweapon?" Aphra let Sabine hold the idol while she scribbled in a notebook. The use of old-fashioned physical writing materials was rare, but Aphra insisted on it. Sabine liked this side of Aphra -- the scholar, someone who immersed herself in her work, who cared about something more than credits. As always, Aphra quickly ruined the moment. "I know quite a few people who would pay through the nose for proof of Elder reproduction." Aphra slipped the idol into her pack. The interior of the statue had grown dark as dusk fell.

Just as it seemed that visibility was going to disappear entirely, the cave lit up a bright shade of blue.

Both women looked around quickly, searching for the source of the light. Sabine spotted it first. "Some kind of... bioluminescent flora?" The floor of the statue was covered in green moss that was now glowing blue.

"This whole statue is probably some kind of fertility ritual space," Aphra said, "When night fell, the Elders would come out here and, uh, get it on."

Sabine's cheeks burned. She hoped Aphra couldn't see them in the limited light. "You're just making that up."

Aphra gave her a big grin. "Maybe." Her eyes, and her smile, were illuminated by the blue glow.

Sabine became uncomfortably aware of the fact that they were totally alone. They had ridden a stolen speeder out to this area, through pristine fields that were entirely uninhabited. There was no one around for miles. As if reading her mind, Aphra got a bit closer, reaching out and gently touching Sabine's bangs.

"Your hair. It's glowing."

Sabine looked away. "Oh, yeah, it must be the dye I use, some kind of reaction with the moss..." When she looked back, Aphra was staring right into her eyes. Her huge smile had been replaced by a softer one, and Sabine's voice trailed off. The canyon was dead silent but for the sound of their breathing.

Then Aphra took Sabine's hand, and leaned in, and Sabine closed her eyes. Their first kiss had been spur of the moment, fuelled by adrenaline and excitement. This one was gentler, and more intimate. Sabine let herself be absorbed by it, wrapping her arms around Aphra's waist, and Aphra moved her own hands up, running them through Sabine's hair as she pulled her closer, slipping her tongue past Sabine's lips. Sabine let out a little noise, some kind of moan that left her embarrassed, but she immediately forgot it as Aphra granted her unspoken request, kissing her deeper.

As Aphra's hands moved from Sabine's head to her chest, running her fingers along the hardened armor plating, Sabine quickly broke off the kiss, stammering incoherently. Aphra giggled. "It's okay, sweetheart. I won't do anything you don't want me to."

Sabine spoke softly. "But... I do want it."

"Want what?"

"You know."

Aphra smiled, illuminated again by the moss. "I want to hear you say it."

"I want... I want to be yours. Tonight."

Aphra seemed taken by surprise,. Whatever she'd expected Sabine to say, it wasn't that. Sabine slowly slipped the heavy Mandalorian chestplate over her head, and then Aphra leaned in and started undoing her right gauntlet while Sabine removed the left one, and while they did this their eyes met and they kissed again, hungrily, and Sabine lost all her doubts and her inhibitions. She undid her pants and let them fall to the floor, leaving her only in her underwear and her combat boots.

Aphra eyed her up, then reached around behind her and unbuckled Sabine's bra, letting it fall away, and Sabine instinctively reached to cover herself before stopping. She had never done this before, never let someone see her naked like this. Aphra gave her a coy little grin and then moved in for another kiss, gently running her hands along the contours of Sabine's breasts, and Sabine gave a strangled moan that echoed off the walls of the statue. Aphra's mouth moved down, kissing her neck, then between her breasts, then her toned stomach, until she was on her knees. Slowly, Aphra pulled Sabine's panties down, like she was savoring the task of unwrapping a present on Life Day. Aphra looked up at her, as if waiting for permission.

Sabine ran her hands through Aphra's hair before resting her hand on her head. "Do it," she whispered.

Aphra beamed. "I like when you give me orders." And then she slowly pressed her fingers and her mouth between Sabine's legs, slipping her tongue along the slickness, and Sabine gasped because she had no idea it would feel this good. Aphra was an expert, clearly, and she wasted no time finding exactly the spot that made Sabine squeal, forcing her to balance herself against the wall of the statue, Aphra's right hand on Sabine's hip. Her eyes practically rolled back in her head as Aphra teased her with her tongue, dragging it in just the right way and then --

" _Stars!_ " Sabine groaned, bucking her hips against Aphra's mouth, like some force had come over her, and Aphra giggled and looked up at her again before going back to work, slipping two fingers past the threshold and twisting her tongue between the folds. They got a rhythm down, Sabine rocking with the movements of Aphra's mouth and gently but firmly grabbing at a clump of Aphra's hair, and then she could feel it growing inside her, a nexus of energy inside her that Aphra was about to burst, and she closed her eyes and moaned something incomprehensible as that force, that energy, that link between them overwhelmed her and she came, for a moment seeing nothing but stars, riding the shockwave like the explosion of the Death Star itself. And then it was over.

Sabine fell back against the wall, trying to catch her breath, soaked in a layer of sweat, her hair clinging to her face. Aphra got up and kissed her, and Sabine could taste herself all over Aphra's mouth and tongue and she _loved_ it, like she had left some kind of branding on the older girl, a mark of the bond they had formed.

"How was that?" Aphra asked, and Sabine answered only by pulling her back in for another kiss. In this moment, she wanted nothing more.

* * *

 The _Ark Angel_ soared out of Naboo's atmosphere, past the Star Destroyer checkpoint and towards the little moon where Sabine's X-Wing hid in orbit. Sabine noted that Aphra had seemed nervous as they passed the checkpoint. "There are some people in the Empire who would love to get their hands on me, and not in the fun way," Aphra explained.

"Speaking of which, I realized that I didn't, uh...well, you know..." Sabine struggled for the words. "I didn't... return the favor."

Aphra smiled up at her. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. You owe me one now."

"But I don't... I don't know what I'm doing."

Aphra got up from the controls and brushed Sabine's bangs out of her eyes. "I'll teach you."

For some reason Sabine felt overwhelmed with emotions, and felt like blurting all kinds of incredibly stupid things, maybe even that four letter L word, but she didn't, of course, and she regained her composure. "Thank you... Chelli."

That caught her off guard. "Chelli?" Aphra laughed, clearly nervous. "We're on Chelli now? I told you nobody calls me that."

"Well, I'm not nobody... am I?"

Aphra averted her eyes, staring at the floor. "No... no you're not."

Sabine reached out and lifted her chin, and gave her a soft kiss. Then she headed for her X-Wing, a little bounce in her step and a flutter in her heart. And she couldn't help but notice as she left that their roles had reversed, and that for some reason it was now Aphra who was on the defensive.


	4. The Ark Angel

Sabine strolled into the comms center of the Rebel base on Hoth. It had been two days and two nights since her "adventure" with Aphra on Naboo, and she couldn't get it out of her thoughts. She had finally let her guard down and admitted to herself that yes, she was incredibly fond of that annoying rogue, and Aphra had let her guard down too, and for just a few tantalizing moments they had been able to share something special, a connection that Sabine had never felt with another person.

For the first time in a long time, Sabine was happy.

As she entered the comms room, Leia and Hera were standing near the array of consoles. "Sabine, right on time," Leia said. "Your contact got in touch with the Fulcrum network again. They're in the Raioballo sector, near Dantooine."

Sabine took a deep breath. She'd been thinking about this moment for a while, even more so in the last two days, and it was time to take the leap. "Actually, General Organa, I was hoping we could discuss my contact."

Leia looked up from the consoles, while Hera continued her work. "What would you like to discuss?"

"Well... my contact has provided us with a lot of valuable intelligence. She's a smuggler and mercenary of sorts and she's attracted a lot of negative attention from the Empire. I fear things are going to get bad for her very soon. With your permission I'd like..." Sabine paused and considered her words. "I'd like to bring her to the base and have her join our cause."

Leia and Hera exchanged looks. "You have a good sense of people, Sabine," Hera said. "So I'm sure if you trust this person, we can make room for them."

"I agree," added Leia. "Just tell us her name and we can have intelligence run a quick background check."

Sabine exhaled, one big weight off her chest. "Sure. It's Chelli, C-h-e-l-l-i, Aphra, A-p-h--"

Leia jerked her head up from the console. "Wait, what did you say?"

"Aphra, it's--"

"As in  _Doctor_ Aphra?"

Sabine suddenly felt nerves come over her again. "Y-yeah, but I don't know if she's even really a doc--"

Leia stood up from the console. " _Doctor Aphra_ is your contact? That conniving, two-faced slimeball?"

Sabine's cheeks grew hot with anger. What right did Leia have to say that about her?

"Do you know who that woman is?" Leia snapped. "Aphra worked for Darth Vader. I don't mean the Empire, I mean she personally worked as Vader's lap dog. She tried to kill me and Han, she almost abducted Luke --  _twice!_ \-- she's completely and utterly untrustworthy and dangerous. I should have let her rot in Sunspot Prison, but my sympathies got the better of me."

Sabine was shell-shocked. Looking for sympathy, she turned her eyes to Hera, but her old friend was shaking her head with a grave expression.

"I've met Aphra, Sabine. She's selfish and credit-hungry and will stab you in the back at the first opportunity."

"But she's had opportunity!" Sabine stuttered. "She's had the chance to hurt me and she didn't take it!"

"Only because you have some use to her," Leia said. "She's had some kind of falling-out with Vader. If she gives him our base, she gets back in his good graces."

Sabine felt the anger overflowing inside her. "With all due respect, general, you have no idea what you're talking about." And then the next words just tumbled out of her mouth. "Aphra cares about me. She would never hurt me."

Leia and Hera were silent for a few awkward seconds. When Leia spoke, it was with that motherly tone Sabine found so annoying, as if Leia wasn't two years younger than her. "Sabine, do you remember Sana Starros?" Sana was a smuggler and acquaintance of Han who occasionally worked with the Rebellion. "Why don't you ask her what her thoughts are on Aphra and how much she cares about people?"

Sabine shook her head. "I don't want to hear this. I don't have to hear it. I'm a grown woman and you already said you trusted my judgment. I'm going to talk to Aphra."

She expected Leia and Hera to stop her, or court martial her, or something, but instead they just watched as she stormed out of the room towards the hangar.

* * *

Sabine's X-Wing approached the  _Ark Angel_ , drifting near Dantooine. She put on her protective gear and once again made the trip through space to the ship, boarding through the ramp.

Aphra was there to greet her, that devilish grin on her face. "I wasn't sure you'd show up! I thought maybe I'd rub off on you and be a bad influence. You know, turn you into a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of girl."

Sabine gave an exaggerated eye-roll. "What'd you bring me out here for this time?"

Aphra led her to the cockpit. "You look totally stressed. What's on your mind, sweetheart?" Aphra had been calling her sweetheart since that first meeting in the bar, but it took on a different meaning now -- or at least, Sabine hoped it did.

"I had this long argument with my leadership. It's a long story and... you don't want to hear it."

Aphra guided Sabine into the passenger seat and had her sit down. "I actually do want to hear all about it, and I'm being serious. But..." She leaned in close, standing behind the chair, her mouth brushing up against Sabine's ear. "...first, I believe we should pick up where we left off?"

Sabine shifted and found herself looking right into Aphra's brown eyes. "Why don't you relax here for a minute and when I get back..." Aphra gave her a wink and then sauntered out of the cockpit, leaving Sabine alone with her (very dirty) thoughts.

The truth was that Sabine was a nervous wreck even without the argument she'd just had with Leia and Hera. She had never, well, done anything like this before -- not counting being on the receiving end of Aphra's lovely tongue on Naboo -- and she was terrified she'd do something wrong. As she sat there stewing in her own anxiety, she couldn't help but play around with the computer on the  _Ark Angel_ 's console. As she looked through the different files and datacards, one phrase caught her attention almost immediately:

SHEATHIPEDE CUSTOM TRACKER

The  _Sheathipede_ was a model of Neimoidian shuttle; the  _Phantom II_ aboard the  _Ghost_ was such a model, and Sabine had taken it down to Nar Shaddaa, where she first met Aphra. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sabine selected the tracker and a series of planetary names and galactic coordinates appeared. Feeling a wave of nausea suddenly overwhelm her, Sabine saw the first two items listed:

Nar Shaddaa and Hoth.

Sabine felt herself go numb, and she barely heard Aphra as she returned to the cockpit. "Now, my lovely, why don't we go somewhere a bit more comfort--"

"Did you track my ship on Nar Shaddaa?" Sabine slowly turned to look at her.

Aphra laughed. "What?"

Sabine looked back at the console. She now noticed another item, labeled INCOM T-65B CUSTOM TRACKER, and she clicked it. Sure enough, two items appeared: Naboo and Hoth.

"You... bugged my X-Wing too," Sabine whispered. "You wanted to make sure you knew exactly where the base was."

Aphra waited a few seconds to respond, clearly thinking over her explanation. "This isn't exactly what it looks like" was the best she could offer.

Sabine turned back to Aphra, her brain spinning, words falling out of her mouth. "You tracked me back to the base, on Hoth... you needed to be sure..." The full weight of the realization dawned on her. "If the Empire caught you... you needed something to barter with..."

Aphra spoke slowly. "That's not... it wasn't, or rather, I didn't--"

"Tell me to my face," Sabine growled. "Tell me to my face that wasn't what you were doing."

Aphra looked at her eyes, but only for a moment, before the guilt washed over her and she stared at the floor instead. "If Vader got me... the things he'd do to me, you don't--"

"Oh, this is your old friend Darth Vader we're talking about?" The anger was on the verge of exploding out of her. "Yeah, I had a chat with Leia and Hera. You remember them, don't you? You forgot to mention that to me."

Aphra shook her head. "Sabine, please--"

" _Tell me to my face that you weren't going to sell out my friends._ "

Aphra just stared at her, and it looked like tears were forming in her eyes, but Sabine's eyes were watering too and she refused to let that compromise her. "If I got caught... yeah. Yeah, I would have sold them out."

Sabine jumped up from the chair, and Aphra recoiled a step. Sabine was aware that, decked out in her Mandalorian armor, Aphra stood little chance in a fight. "Sabine, I would never do anything to hurt you--"

"Do you expect me to believe that? I trusted you, and you... that tracker on my X-Wing, did you plant that before or after we..." Sabine was trying not to cry, and strike an intimidating figure instead, but it wasn't working.

For a long time, neither of them spoke. Then Sabine did. "I should bring you back to the base in chains. You know too much. But... I won't. I want you to stay the hell away from the Rebel Alliance. Don't contact us."

Sabine stormed past Aphra towards the cargo bay, putting her protective gear back on. Aphra was just standing there in complete silence.

"And if the Empire ever shows up at Hoth, you better swear on whatever higher power you believe in that they kill me before I get to you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a real downer, but don't worry! The story is only just getting started and things will get a lot brighter from here!


	5. Hoth

For the next few days, Sabine kept to herself, locked away in her room. Having cried herself dry within the first night, she spent the next few evenings alternating between being angry at Aphra and being angry at herself. She hadn't told Leia or Hera what happened when she returned to the base and stormed past them to her room, but she knew they could tell. Hera had come to check up on her and left when it was clear Sabine didn't want to talk. The truth was that Sabine wanted Leia or Hera to yell at her, tell her she'd make a mistake, punish her for disobedience. But they hadn't, and it was driving her up the wall.

It was because she sealed off her room and overslept that Sabine didn't hear the alarms going off.

When she finally awoke to a soldier banging on her door, Sabine leapt out of bed, immediately becoming aware of the sounds of chaos rumbling through the base. She swung the door open and was informed by a trooper, gasping and out of breath, that Echo Base was under siege by the Empire.

As the evacuation had already been in progress for over an hour, Sabine had no time to pack. She grabbed her armor, put it on as quickly as possible, and raced out the door and down the maze of hallways towards the hangar bays. The transport ships, carrying the majority of Rebel personnel, had already evacuated. The only people left were some troopers, piling into the last transport. A few scattered X-Wings and the  _Millennium Falcon_ were all that remained. Sabine whipped out her comlink. "Hera? Where is the  _Ghost_?"

"What do you mean, where is the  _Ghost_?" Hera responded. "Aren't you on it? We're heading for the rendezvous point right now! Where are you?!"

Her panic grew. "I didn't hear the alarms! I'm still at the base!"

"Okay, we're coming back for you. Stay put--"

"No!" Sabine shouted. "It's too dangerous! Get to the rendezvous! I'll take a transport." Sabine followed a line of soldiers toward the final transport ship.

As she ran up the ramp, she realized she had forgotten something. "My helmet! I need to grab my helmet!"

"There's no time," a trooper shouted. "We need to get out of here now! Those Star Destroyers won't be disabled forever!"

The trooper didn't understand; Sabine's helmet, like the rest of her armor, was a relic of her culture and her home. She couldn't leave it behind to be destroyed or looted by the Empire. So she ran back to her room, back through the maze, knowing they would have to take off without her. She could hear the bombs, feel the ground and walls shaking as the Imperials hammered their way through the base.

Returning to the first hangar bay, Sabine noted three things: the  _Millennium Falcon_ blasting away, a squad of stormtroopers firing on it, and a jet-black figure standing behind them in complete silence: Darth Vader. Sabine quickly darted behind some crates, moving silently around the room and making her way towards the second hangar bay where the X-Wings were kept. The room had gone quiet as the  _Falcon_ had escaped, and Vader appeared lost in thought. As she approached the doorway, Sabine tried not to glance in Vader's direction. Kanan and Ezra had described the aura of evil around the Sith lord, but she had never anticipated just how truly terrifying he was.  _He's like the embodiment of death_ , Sabine thought.  _I can see why Aphra was scared._

Immediately, Vader's head whipped in her direction, staring right at her. Sabine froze and stared back.

For one endless second, nobody spoke. Then Vader raised one gloved hand and pointed at her. "Bring her to me."

Sabine bolted through the door into the second hangar, hearing the troops running behind her. Her footsteps ringing in her ears, adrenaline flowing through her, Sabine leapt into a cockpit and fired up the engine. She had no time to grab a flightsuit; her armor would have to do. As the stormtroopers burst into the hangar and began to fire, Sabine pondered what had just happened. How had Vader known she was there? Was it because she was thinking of Aphra? Vader wanted to destroy her so badly that the mere thought of her in Sabine's head had tipped him off?

_Great. Aphra isn't even here and she's going to get me killed._

Sabine got the X-Wing in the air and flew out through the hangar doors. But as she approached orbit, she felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. The effects of the ion cannons had worn off, and the Star Destroyers had begun to open fire. Their current target was the  _Falcon_ , but as Sabine's X-Wing arrived on the scene, one of the massive capital ships turned its attention toward her. Sabine rapidly entered a series of coordinates into the navicomputer -- the location of the emergency rendezvous point for the Rebel fleet -- but as she was doing so, the entire ship shook. It was a direct hit, and sure enough, the navicomputer went dark.

" _Karabast!_ " Sabine slammed her fists on the console and desperately attempted to maneuver around the flurry of turbolaser fire coming from the Star Destroyers. But piloting ships had never been her strong suit, and now she was going to pay the price for it. "This is Sabine Wren," she shouted into her comlink. "Can anyone hear me?"

There was no response. A second turbolaser blast hit her ship right across the nose, and it began to spiral wildly. "I've lost all control!" Sabine shrieked into the comm. "Please! If anyone is out there--" Her voice trailed off as she realized the ships had stopped firing. Several Star Destroyers, including the gargantuan  _Executor_ , had peeled off to pursue the  _Falcon_ , but one of the giant ships had remained and was no longer firing.

They wanted to take her alive and question her about the rendezvous point.

There was no point calling for help. Anyone left would fall into the same trap she had. Her ship hanging dead in space, Sabine lay back against the headrest, a strange calm coming over her. Was this really how it was going to end? Tortured to death in some Imperial holding cell? She closed her eyes and exhaled, waiting for the inevitable.

"Goooood afternoon! Is there a cute Mandalorian in need of a lift?"

Sabine's eyes bugged out, looking at the comms. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Sure enough, the  _Ark Angel_ 's distinctive form appeared, soaring towards her. "Aphra? What are you doing here?"

"What, a girl can't stop by and say hello? All right, listen. When I count to three, pop your cockpit open."

"I have no flightsuit, and my armor isn't sealed off. I'll die if I'm exposed."

Aphra laughed. "Not immediately. I've done this before. Listen, just open the cockpit, float out, and I'll grab you."

"Are you insane?" Sabine snapped.

"We really don't have time to argue this, sweetheart," Aphra said, and the  _Ark Angel_ had now come close enough to fill her entire view. "That ship's tractor beam is about to pull you in, and me with you. Just do it. Trust me."

" _I don't trust you!_ "

"Sabine, get your kriffing cockpit open  _now_!"

Her head spinning, Sabine slammed her fist on the button, and the cockpit swung open. Releasing her straps, Sabine floated free into the void.

At first, she felt nothing. Then suddenly she felt cold all over, like she'd been dunked in a vat of ice, and the sensation was so immediate that it numbed her entire body. Her armor wasn't vacuum sealed, and her arms and legs were guarded only by a layer of cloth. She could feel the blood vessels in her head, her heart pounding, the absolute emptiness and dead silence overwhelming her. It seemed like she was floating forever, completely lost to time, and her eyes began to water and she knew her time was about to run out, and then the warmth of the  _Ark Angel_ 's floodlights doused her and she could see the cargo ramp extending in her peripheral vision, but she was losing consciousness and everything was going black --

There was heat and sensation again. She felt her helmet being popped off, and Sabine realized she was laying on the flood of the  _Ark Angel_ 's cargo bay, staring at the ceiling. She moved to try and get up, but felt like she was paralyzed all over.

"All right, take it easy." Aphra wrapped a blanket around her, and Sabine just stared at the wall for a few seconds, trying to get her bearings. "That was quite the spacewalk!"

Sabine could feel the ship rumbling rhythmically. Aphra had jumped to lightspeed. Regaining some control over her limbs, Sabine quickly stood and spun around to face Aphra. "Where are we going?"

"A random jump, just to get the Empire off our tails. We can probably make it to --"

"Did you do this?"

Aphra took a step back. "What?"

" _Did you do this?_ " Sabine growled, her attempt at sounding threatening hampered by the fact that she could barely stand up straight. "Did you give the base to the Empire?"

"Are you serious?" Aphra seemed genuinely offended. "The Empire found you the old fashioned way. I was listening on their comms and heard about the invasion. I didn't give you up." Then, after a moment, her voice softened. "Do you really think I'd do that? Get the entire Rebel Alliance killed just to try and spite you?"

Sabine couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Whatever Aphra was, she wasn't evil. Misguided and selfish, maybe, but not evil. Not like the sensation she'd felt coming from that  _thing_ , Vader.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I need to get back to the Rebel rendezvous point."

Aphra nodded. "We should be coming out of lightspeed soon. Just tell me where we're headed and I'll punch it in."

The distrust quickly returned. "I'm not about to enter those coordinates into your navicomputer. Don't think I forgot what happened."

Aphra threw her hands in the air. "Then great, we can just camp out here until the Empire finds us. That cool with you?"

"Just... put me down at the nearest system. I'll purchase a ship with the Alliance emergency fund."

Aphra nodded. "Right. Of course. We're near Onderon. We'll stop there."

They didn't speak for the rest of the journey into the Onderon spaceport. Sabine was still recovering from her exposure, and she still couldn't figure out how she was feeling about Aphra.

Surely their trip to Onderon would be quiet and uneventful...


	6. Onderon

The  _Ark Angel_ landed at a spaceport in Iziz, Onderon's capital city. As Sabine and Aphra disembarked, they immediately felt the overwhelming Imperial presence. Stormtroopers marched down the streets and TIE fighters soared overhead. Civilians were mingling at various roadside shops, going about their day as if nothing was amiss, but Sabine knew there was something more lurking under the surface.

"Onderon was one of the Rebellion's birthplaces," she explained as they moved through the crowd. "Saw Gerrera caused the Empire a lot of trouble, and some of his men are probably still here. We need to be careful and avoid attracting attention."

The two women approached a security checkpoint where an officer and several troopers were checking identification. "We'd attract less attention if you weren't a giant orange glowing beacon," Aphra grumbled. Sabine removed her helmet and put it under her arm. As much as she hated to admit it, Aphra was right. Her bright armor would be a liability, especially if the Empire had put out information on her appearance.

"I hope you understand why I'm upset," Sabine said. "I never doubted that you cared about me. But the Alliance is my life. They're my family. They're what's most important to me." Sabine turned to her. "When I met you..."

Aphra rolled her eyes. "You thought you'd found a project to work on? You thought you'd make an honest woman out of me?"

"I thought I'd met someone who had conviction and loyalty under that veneer of selfishness. But maybe I was wrong."

Aphra was silent as they walked up to the checkpoint.

"Please show your identification cards," a stormtrooper said.

"You know what, I left mine at home." Aphra gave him a beaming smile.

The trooper was unmoved. "There is no access to the inner city without identification."

The city's shipyards were in the inner city. If Sabine wanted a new ship, they'd have to get through. "We've misplaced our cards. Is there anything you can do for us?"

The trooper gestured to a large, boxy grey building down the street. "You can request duplicate identification at the Processing Station."

Sabine and Aphra turned and went towards the structure, which stood out like a garish blob among the ornate, ancient designs of Iziz's architecture. As they entered, they found themselves in a lobby filled with at least thirty people, packed together in the cramped space. Sabine took a device that informed her she was 12th in line. "This is ridiculous," Sabine grumbled. "I've been gone for hours already. I need to get back to the fleet."  But with no other option, Sabine knew they would be forced to wait.

As they waited, Sabine noticed a nearby room labeled "CONTRABAND." Aphra had taken note of it as well, and was eyeing the unguarded door with interest. "Don't even think about it," Sabine growled. As the minutes ticked past, Sabine got up to stretch her legs. When she returned, Aphra was gone. Sabine let out a sigh of frustration and took her seat. She had been waiting for nearly an hour, and there were still five people ahead of her in line.

Finally, after another twenty agonizing minutes, Sabine's turn came. She approached a female Imperial officer standing behind a glass panel. The woman was clearly as bored of sitting there as Sabine had been. "Please state your name and reason for entering the capital."

"My name is Balia Maythrek," Sabine stated, producing a forged document she kept in her pants pocket for precisely these sorts of situations. "I'm in the city to meet with a representative for a business opportunity."

The woman gave her a cold look. "This 'business opportunity' better not be anything involving blasters or explosives."

"Not at all!" Sabine smiled and gestured to the armor. "It's not even real. It's a fake I bought off some trader on Kafrene."

"Are you alone, or do you have additional companions?"

Sabine considered the question for a moment. All she needed to do was purchase a ship and leave -- there was really no reason for Aphra to accompany her. But almost on cue, Aphra appeared from the crowd and sidled up next to her, a mischievous smile on her face. "Yes," Sabine mumbled. "One companion."

Having received the identification documents, Sabine and Aphra stepped out of the building and began moving towards the checkpoint again. "Well, that wasn't too hard," Aphra said.

"What wasn't?"

Sabine immediately regretted asking, because at that moment the doors to the Processing Station burst open and two stormtroopers ran out. One of them pointed straight at Aphra. "That's her! She took it!"

Aphra grabbed Sabine's hand and bolted, shoving her way through the crowd. "Aphra!" Sabine shouted. "What did you do?!"

"I may have, uh, nicked something from the contraband room," she laughed.

Sabine wanted to respond, but several more troopers had joined the chase, and as they ran back towards the  _Ark Angel_ they were cut off by an entire squadron, weapons raised. "Blast them!"

Aphra darted down a side alley, and Sabine followed. "What the hell did you steal?!" she shrieked as blaster fire scorched the wall where they'd been a moment earlier.

They reached a dead end. Iziz was a walled city, and they'd reached the boundary. Without hesitation, Aphra climbed on some boxes and began to scramble over the wall. Sabine had no choice but to follow. Aphra leapt off the wall and into the jungle below, rolling to break her fall. Sabine did the same, but took a hard landing and sprained her ankle.

As Aphra helped her to her feet, Sabine pushed her away. "Are you serious?! I was this close to getting a ship and you just couldn't keep your hands to yourself?!"

"I'm sorry," Aphra said, and it seemed genuine. But that didn't change the fact that they were now stranded outside the city, with Imperial troops searching for them, and night was falling. "We're not getting back in there now that it's almost curfew," she said. "And you're in no condition to run. We should rest in these trees and try again tomorrow."

Sabine was too tired to argue. They climbed separate trees and slept the night away.

* * *

Sabine woke the next morning to the sound of a male voice. Looking down, she saw Aphra sitting at the base of the tree. A holoprojector was in her hand, and the small image of a man was being projected. Sabine crawled down from the tree. "What is that?"

"Oh, this was what I took yesterday. Look, you've got to listen to this. Let me start it over." Aphra pressed a button and the video started from the beginning. A handsome young man with shoulder-length hair, wearing the garb of a Jedi, was speaking.

"This is Anakin Skywalker, making my second transmission. I am unsure if my messages are being received, as the Separatists are blocking many of our frequencies. While assisting the insurgents, Ahsoka and I were informed of the possibility that a nearby temple contains information on the Kybalah. We are unsure if these rumors are true, and cannot currently investigate them, but the Separatists must not be allowed to get such an important relic. Please send--"

The figure of Anakin disappeared. "That's the whole thing," Aphra said. "The Separatists must have intercepted the transmission and stored it."

"This must be around twenty-three years old," Sabine noted. "During the Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano was stationed here with her master, Anakin Skywalker. She told me about it. That's when she met Saw. But what's the Kybalah?"

Aphra's face lit up, as it did whenever she discussed ancient things. "The Kybalah is believed to be an ancient Jedi artifact with some kind of legendary power, used during their wars with the Sith thousands of years ago. Luke's old man thought the Separatists had found information on it, here on Onderon, but when the Onderon rebels took the Seps down, the Republic must have decided not to bother looking into it more. My dad told me about it. I've always thought it'd be cool to get my hands on it."

"I'll admit this is interesting, but why are you telling me this?"

"While you were sleeping, I did a little recon. There's a dig site about a kilometer that way." Aphra gestured east, away from the city. "Let's do a little digging of our own, shall we?"

Sabine needed to get to a ship, but she'd never be able to sneak through the city without Aphra's help. "Make this quick," she grumbled.

* * *

As they arrived at the dig site, Aphra and Sabine saw dozens of workers digging in the dirt, excavating some kind of ruined temple. A lone Imperial officer was standing at a mobile computer terminal, entering data. Sabine snuck up behind him and smashed her helmet against his head. He dropped, and she accessed the computer.

"Why is the Empire here?" Sabine asked. "Why do they want some Jedi artifact?" While Sabine searched through the troves of data, Aphra picked up a datacard. "I found something," Sabine whispered. Aphra looked over her shoulder. The men down below were still distracted with their dig, but they could turn around at any time. Speed was of the essence. "Do you see this? They found something called the Cylian Cipher, and shipped it offworld. There's a picture." Sabine loaded the image. A picture of a rusted semicircle appeared.

"The Cylian Cipher tells you where the Jedi hid the Kybalah," Aphra explained. "But that's clearly just half of the device. Where's the other half?"

Sabine scrolled through the data. "It says something about Malachor being the possible location of the other half of the cipher."

Aphra held up the datacard. "Great. Just let me copy that image and I'll go find the other half on Malachor."

But Sabine moved to an adjacent terminal. "I have access to the entire Imperial network in this sector," she said. "Let me see what else I can find." After a moment, she gasped. "Look at this." Sabine pulled up a schematic showing an X-Wing fighter. "This is some kind of hyperdrive vulnerability in Incom's fighters. If the Empire exploits this, they could trigger a huge explosion during dogfights that would kill anyone in the vicinity." Sabine pointed to the datacard in Aphra's hands. "I need to get this intel to the Alliance, fast."

Aphra was quiet. She was still looking at the picture of the cipher on the other terminal. "The Kybalah is one of the most legendary Jedi artifacts... If I could be the one to find it..." She looked at Sabine. "We've only got one datacard."

The two women were silent for the next few seconds. Sabine should have expected this. To Aphra, the allure of mysterious Jedi treasure was too great. Sabine would just have to try and explain the vulnerability to the engineers somehow --

Aphra put the datacard into Sabine's console and downloaded the X-Wing schematics. "Take it," she said quietly, handing the card to Sabine.

"But... what about --"

"Lives are at stake, right? Isn't that how we got started? Trying to help your silly Rebel friends?" She tapped Sabine's shoulder. "Get this to them. Fix your X-Wings."

Sabine took the card and looked at it. "Aphra... This means a lot to me. To everyone in the Rebellion, too."

For the first time since their fight, Sabine allowed herself to give Aphra a smile.

* * *

 

Trudging back to the city, Sabine knew her cover was blown, and her hopes of buying a ship along with it. Aphra suggested they go back to the  _Ark Angel_ , where she could drop Sabine off at another populated world. But as she sat in the cockpit and began entering hyperspace coordinates, Sabine gently pushed her hand aside. "Allow me."

Confused, Aphra watched as Sabine entered a series of coordinates. "Where are we going?"

Sabine smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "You've discovered quite the important vulnerability in our ships, doctor. Why don't you bring this find to Princess Leia? I'm sure there's a reward in it."

Confused but clearly pleased with herself, Aphra smiled back, and the  _Ark Angel_ leapt to lightspeed.

* * *

"Absolutely not."

Leia was standing at the base of the  _Ark Angel_ 's ramp, her hands on her hips. The ship had landed aboard  _Home One_ , the Rebel flagship. Leia looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"General, Doctor Aphra helped me discover a major vulnerability in our ships. We need to get this analyzed by the techs." Sabine was standing on the ramp, Aphra lurking behind her, as if she was hiding from Leia's piercing gaze.

" _You_ can give me the datacard and then _she_ can get the hell off my ship," Leia snapped.

Sabine was going to say something, but before she could, she was interrupted. "It's fine, Leia. She wants to help us."

Luke Skywalker stepped into the hangar. The young Jedi looked like he'd been through hell and back. His face was bruised and beaten, and he was nursing his right hand. Yet he had a serenity about him that Sabine had not previously felt, like he was a changed man.

"I can feel good in her. She has no ill intent, I promise you." Luke put his hand on Leia's arm, and she looked away from them with a sigh.

"Fine. We'll get her a room. But if I see you within twenty meters of somewhere you're not supposed to be --"

Aphra pushed past Sabine, bounding down the ramp. "There won't be any problems, Miss Princess General, ma'am. Thanks for the save, Luke." She patted his arm, and he winced from pain. Sabine, trying to suppress her laughter, followed.

* * *

 

That evening, Sabine was settling into her new room aboard  _Home One_. She had removed her armor and was now wearing a simple black top and shorts. Hera had filled her in on what she'd missed: Han, Leia, and Chewbacca had been captured by Darth Vader at Cloud City and held hostage. Han had been frozen in carbonite and captured by Boba Fett, while Luke had confronted Vader. Despite surviving, he'd lost his hand, but had also changed in some way. He didn't want to discuss it with anyone. Sabine understood now why Leia was so angry. She had sensed a bit of something between Leia and that smuggler, and surely she was hurting right now.

Sabine was considering paying Luke a visit when she heard a knock. She opened the door and found Aphra standing in the hallway. Her jacket and helmet were gone, and she was dressed only in her shirt and pants. "Got room for two?"

Aphra shut the door behind her and sat next to Sabine on the bed. "How are you settling in?" Sabine asked.

"It's been a while since I actually had a place to stay that wasn't my ship," she said. "The beds here are nicer too. Truly, the Mon Calamari are the masters of quality shipmaking." To prove her point, she dramatically fell back on the bed, then sat up again. Sabine giggled.

Aphra looked down at the floor, away from Sabine. "Listen, Sabine. I wanted to talk to you about something." She shifted uncomfortably. "For the last week or two, I keep thinking about when we were on Canto Bight. Remember? When you stopped and made that little Rebel symbol for those kids. You risked your life for such a simple thing. That kind of conviction, that kind of commitment...it  _scares_ me."

Sabine scooted a bit closer to Aphra as she continued. "I've met a lot of crazy people in my time -- crazy people with stupid dreams that will get them killed, including your friends Luke and Leia -- but something about you made me... want to get in on that? Make that commitment? And it scared me." She lowered her voice, like she was talking to herself. "I messed everything up. I always do, and it's my fault. I've hurt a lot of people in my life. I've hurt  _you_. I always hurt people and push them away. But I've always felt like it was better to rely on a sure thing like being a loner, than to..."

Sabine gently squeezed Aphra's hand. "Than to take the big scary risk of putting yourself on the line for something bigger? You just did, today. I knew that person was inside you all along. I could tell when I met you. And I wanted to be the one to bring that out of you. You know why?" Sabine leaned a little closer. " _Because you're kind of cute._ "

Aphra smiled and her cheeks reddened, just a bit. "Only _kind of_?"

Sabine kept one hand on Aphra's, and gently put the other one behind her head. "Maybe I'll make an honest woman out of you after all." Then she pulled Aphra closer and they kissed, slowly, savoring it and not speaking, because they didn't need to say anything else.

When they finally separated, their lips were still so close that they brushed together as Aphra whispered "I should get back to my room," and Sabine whispered back: "No, you shouldn't." Then they kissed again, and Sabine gently pushed Aphra down onto the bed, climbing on top of her. "I still owe you, remember?" She ran her mouth down Aphra's neck and slowly pulled her shirt up and over her head. Then she did the same with her own top, and then leaned back and pressed a small panel above the bed, dimming the lights.

"Ooh, how romantic," Aphra laughed, and then Sabine climbed back on top of her, resuming the kissing down her neck to her chest, slowly tracing her tongue around her right nipple and then the left. Aphra gave a little gasp. "I'm supposed to be giving you instructions, remember?"

Sabine gave her a dirty look. "I think your padawan can figure this one out on her own." She pulled Aphra's pants down and untangled them from her feet, tossing them aside. "But I'll humor you,  _master_. Tell me where to start." She gently pressed her mouth against Aphra's inner thigh, teasing her as she ran her tongue along it until she arrived at her destination. Sabine could feel her heart pounding in her ears, but she wasn't nervous. Instead, it was adrenaline and arousal fueling her moves as she used her tongue to part Aphra's lips and begin licking away. She had tasted herself before, of course, in her private moments, but never someone else, and at first she wasn't sure what to think of the sensation on her lips and tongue.

But as the thought slowly came into her head, that she was doing something intimate and primal with someone she cared more about than anyone else, Sabine was overwhelmed with desire, and she increased her speed, devouring her; she couldn't get enough, and she worked her fingers in gently, rubbing them along before replacing them with her tongue again, desperate to taste her again. " _Right there_ , my young padawan, right there, that's good," Aphra groaned, and she put one leg around Sabine's head. "Are you  _sure_ you've never done this before?" Sabine didn't answer, unwilling to pull her mouth away for even a second. She moved one of her hands away from Aphra's legs, down her own shorts, and began to rub herself, her whole body consumed by her neediness, her lust for this frustratingly sexy woman.

That neediness led her to get out from under Aphra's leg and climb back on top of her, forcefully pressing her mouth against Aphra's and slipping two fingers inside her. Aphra practically screamed, taken by surprise at Sabine's aggression, and Sabine let out a laugh -- "What's the matter? Has the padawan overtaken the master?" -- and Aphra growled something unintelligible and pulled her back into the kiss, one hand around her head and the other grabbing at Sabine's ass. The pair moved into a rhythm, Aphra pulling on Sabine and Sabine working Aphra over with her fingers, until finally Aphra moaned " _Mother of moons!_ " so loud that it might have woken the entire ship, and she fell back from Sabine's soaked fingers, gasping for breath. Sabine slowly licked her fingers clean, then slid them into Aphra's mouth, and the other girl let out a long groan of pleasure -- she was  _loving_ letting Sabine take charge.

Then, after a moment Aphra mumbled "My turn" and pulled on Sabine's ass until she had moved up above her and gently lowered herself against Aphra's mouth. Despite her earlier confidence, Sabine had to admit that Aphra was still the master here -- expertly darting her tongue in and out in just the right way to make Sabine cry out, balancing herself against the wall as she rode Aphra's face, rocking against her lips. " _Stars_ , Aphra... Chelli... Chelli..." Sabine squealed her name over and over, the whole bed creaking and rocking, closing her eyes and running her hands through her hair and wanting to concentrate on nothing but this moment -- not the Rebellion, or the Empire, or the war, but just  _this_ , the simple thing she had with Aphra -- and finally it was over as soon as it had started, and it was somehow better than the first time on Naboo.

She climbed off Aphra and lay next to her. "I'm so glad you're here with me," Sabine whispered, and Aphra responded "I'm so glad I stopped the Empire from blowing your cute ass out of the sky," and they both laughed and held each other tight until they fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Sabine woke first. As she watched Aphra's sleeping form, she took notice of how vulnerable she looked, her hair fanned out on the pillow, snoring softly. There was no trace of the rogue or the mercenary or the criminal -- just an innocent girl, one who loved ancient relics and a good time. By the time Aphra woke, rubbing her eyes, Sabine was fully dressed and standing over her.

"What's the big hurry, sweetheart?" Aphra laughed, still groggy. Sabine gave her a grin.

"Pack your things. We have a Kybalah to find."


	7. Malachor

Sabine and Aphra met with Luke outside the mess hall. They had a feeling Leia wouldn't sanction a mission for such a seemingly unimportant artifact -- not with much of the fleet's resources tied up in battles and the ongoing search for Han -- so they pulled the young Jedi aside and asked his opinion.

"I don't like going over Leia's head on this, but I agree that she likely wouldn't understand," Luke said. "If this artifact has some kind of ancient power, we need to make sure it stays out of the Empire's hands. Take your ship to Malachor and see if you can't get this cipher thing before the Empire does."

As Sabine and Aphra were walking away, Luke called after them. "Aphra, do you mind if I..." He paused. "Could I hold on to that holovid?"

Aphra drew it out of her pocket. "Sure, Luke. I forgot... this is probably the first time you've seen your Pop before, right?" She tossed him the datadisc, and Luke didn't answer. "Go ahead and keep it."

"Thank you, Aphra," Luke said, quietly. "I appreciate this."

As they walked away, Sabine rubbed Aphra's shoulder. "I'm sure that means a lot to him. Vader killed his father, and now he almost killed Luke too." But as she looked back at Luke, the look on his face as he watched the little hologram of his father wasn't one of anger or sadness, but some kind of deeper contemplation. Sabine wasn't sure what it meant.

* * *

The  _Ark Angel_ had arrived at Malachor, floating in the depths of the Outer Rim. Lost to time thousands of years ago following a cataclysmic battle between the Jedi and the Sith, Malachor had been rendered off-limits for exploration or visitation until six years earlier, when Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka had gone on a fateful mission to the planet... a mission that had changed everything. In the years since, the planet had largely remained abandoned. As the  _Ark Angel_ flew into the lower atmosphere, buffeted by strong winds, Sabine looked out the front windows, feeling a strange sense of dread coming over her.

"This place is like Hell," she whispered.

"During the ancient wars between the Jedi and Sith, this place was a battleground," Aphra explained. "There was some kind of Sith temple here, a weapon that misfired and killed everyone. Only the ruins remain." Sabine was well aware of the temple weapon: during their mission to the planet, Ezra and Kanan had barely escaped when the temple exploded, while Ahsoka had seemingly been lost to the destruction.

The  _Ark Angel_ touched down in a barren field outside the complex of ruins on Malachor's surface. Below the ruins, Sabine knew, lurked the temple and the site of an ancient battle. "So just to recap," Aphra said as they exited the ship, "We're looking for half of the Cylian Cipher. The Empire's got the other half, from Onderon. Both halves together will lead us to the Kybalah."

"Yeah," Sabine mumbled, "except we have no idea where to look on this hellhole of a planet, and no idea how to get the other half from the Empire."

Aphra shot her a smile. "Have a little faith, my apprentice in archaeology. I know a thing or two about Malachor."

The pair spent the next hour trekking across the wasteland, heading east. Sabine kept asking if Aphra knew where she was going, and each time Aphra would simply gesture to her compass. Finally, a large structure appeared on the horizon. Shaped like a spiral, the structure was clearly ancient and of Sith design, made of some dark material that resembled obsidian. It rose several hundred feet in the air.

"How did you know this was here?" Sabine asked, craning her neck to look at the tower.

"The Sith were obsessed with all kinds of weird symbols and iconography. When we were coming in for the landing, I noticed structures dotting the surface, in the shape of one of those ancient Sith designs." Aphra pointed at the tower. "I knew if we headed east we'd probably find something."

Sabine rubbed her eyes, exasperated. "Why didn't we just land here, then?"

"There's something about the atmosphere of this place that makes flight difficult. You saw me struggling with the landing. The destruction of that Sith temple released something in the air, like an EMP." She shrugged. "And besides, it's good to get a lay of the land."

The women approached the tower, which did not appear to have any sort of door or entrance. "What is this thing, anyway?" Sabine wondered.

"The rest of the complex is underground, so I'm guessing this is some kind of watch tower. But how do we get inside?"

"Don't ask me," Sabine said. "You're the expert." But as Aphra spent the next few minutes walking circles around the tower, Sabine examined the exterior, and started to wonder if perhaps she was the expert in this situation. "Chelli, look," Sabine said, pointing to decorative designs dotting the outside of the tower. "These are Mandalorian symbols."

"Well, yeah," Aphra responded. "The Mandalorian crusaders fought on behalf of the Sith during the battle here. Wouldn't surprise me if their symbols were all over the place."

"No, but these symbols aren't as old as the conflict. These date back only a few hundred years."

Aphra began to understand. "So you're saying the Mandalorians came back at some point? I'm guessing they didn't just decide to vandalize the place for fun. What do the symbols say?"

Sabine shook her head. "It's not language. The symbols represent meaning. Specifically, it's representing twilight, or the idea of merging the light and the dark."

"So what, do we wait for sunset or something?"

"No, it's not literal. It's more of the idea of twilight than a literal concept."

Aphra looked at the dark, cloudy sky overhead. "This planet barely gets any sunlight anyway. I guess it doesn't mean anything then."

Sabine was unconvinced. A single ray of light was all that illuminated Malachor's surface. But Sabine had noticed that it was this same ray of light, gently pushing through the clouds, that had been there the entire time they'd been on Malachor. No matter how much the clouds shifted, that lone ray remained. Something about it was suspicious. Slowly, Sabine removed her helmet and held it towards the light. Despite the surface not being particularly reflective, the light was immediately bounced off the helmet.

"The symbols are arranged in a way that forms a cube, if you look at it from the right angle. If I can just..." Sabine moved her helmet slowly, angling the beam of light and "drawing" between the different symbols. Sure enough, glowing paths formed between the symbols, forming the two-dimensional image of a three-dimensional cube. As Sabine connected the final shapes, the entire tower shook, and began to descend into the ground, forming a long staircase deep into the catacombs.

"Mother of moons!" Aphra exclaimed. "How did you figure that out?"

"I know a couple things about Mandalorian art," Sabine laughed. They approached the staircase, which stretched deep underground.

Aphra grinned. "You're pretty handy. I guess I should keep you around, huh?"

* * *

It took several minutes for Sabine and Aphra to descend the entire staircase. With no natural light this far underground, Aphra activated a floating drone with a flare attached to guide their way. When they reached the bottom, cramped into an uncomfortably small cave, they found a large, ceremonial stone door set into the wall, decorated with more ancient Mandalorian runes.

"All right, Mando girl, you're up," Aphra said, adjusting the drone's position to cast more light on the door. Sabine examined it. "This script is really old. I don't know what it's meant to indicate." She reached out and touched the runes with her hand.

The door swung inwards, with surprising speed, considering how large and heavy it appeared.

"Well, that was a freebie, I guess." Aphra cautiously stepped through the doorway, followed by Sabine, who had no idea what she'd done to get the door to open.

They found themselves inside a large chamber. On a plinth, at the center of the otherwise empty chamber, was a stone semicircle engraved with runes.

"The Cylian Cipher!" Aphra exclaimed. "Or half of it, at least." She approached the plinth, her eyes darting around the room, no doubt looking for traps. Slowly, she reached out and touched the cipher, then raised it from the plinth.

Aphra exhaled loudly. "Okay. Not dead. That's good. I guess the Mandalorians assumed nobody would get this far."

"But why did the Mandalorians hide this in the first place?" Sabine asked. "They  _fought_ the Jedi during the conflict. Why are they hiding clues to an ancient Jedi artifact?"

"And why are the runes on the tower newer than anything else in here?" Aphra examined the cipher closely. "Originally, the Mandalorians hid the cipher. But at some point, somebody decided it was better off found. But why?"

At that moment, a female voice rang out through the room behind them. "These are all riveting questions, but unfortunately we didn't follow you down here for a history lesson."

Sabine and Aphra spun around in unison. Approaching through the doorway was a purple-skinned Twi'lek woman, flanked by four stormtroopers. Dressed in a white top and a grey jacket similar to Aphra's, and sporting various bits and pieces of survival gear, the woman's lekku were draped over her shoulders and decorated with ornate wrappings.

"You know, I was thinking, 'How could Chelli figure out some ancient Mandalorian puzzle?'" The woman, grinning and clearly pleased with herself, stepped forward. "But then I realized you didn't figure it out at all. I guess I should have brought a pet Mandalorian of my own!"

Confused, Sabine looked at Aphra, who seemed unfazed. "Seela Raddula. I feel like I should be surprised that you're palling around with the Empire, but I'm not."

Seela laughed. "That is awfully hypocritical, coming from you. We've been sitting outside this place for two days trying to figure out how to get inside, and then we see the two of you coming! Imagine our luck. And in just a few minutes, you figured it out. I'm impressed, truly."

Her anxiety growing, Sabine piped up. "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"Oh, it can talk!" Seela put her hands to her mouth in exaggerated surprise. "How adorable! Chelli, where did you find her?"

"I'm pretty good with a blaster too," Sabine growled. "So why don't you answer my question." It was a pointless boast, since they were outnumbered, but Sabine didn't care.

"Did Chelli never mention me?" Each time this irritating woman spoke Aphra's name, it made Sabine's blood boil. For her part, Aphra seemed more annoyed than angry. "She and I go  _way_ back. When little baby Chelli was first learning to break the rules in university, I was there to teach her everything she knows." She eyed Sabine up and down like a piece of meat. "And I do mean...  _everything_ she knows." Seela giggled to herself like she'd just made the galaxy's most subtle joke.

Aphra let out a loud groan. "Can you please just kill us or something so we don't have to listen to your monologue? Congratulations, you waited for us to do the hard work for you. You're so smart. Just get on with it."

Seela stepped closer. "Oh no, Chelli, I'm not here to kill you. See, the Empire hired me to find the Cylian Cipher and the Kybalah. But there's a certain someone who would very much like to make sure you're dead this time. He's going to choke the life out of you himself." She leaned in, close enough that her lips were brushing against Aphra's ear, and whispered. " _My prize is that I get to watch._ "

Sabine tried to ignore what Seela was doing and instead focus on the layout of the room. There was only one exit, with four armed stormtroopers in front of us, and it was about three meters away.

Aphra stared into Seela's eyes and narrowed her own. "Move your head."

"What?" Seela asked.

"I wasn't talking to you."

That was when Sabine realized that Aphra's drone, with the flare providing the only source of light in the room, was floating next to her head. She ducked. In one smooth motion, Aphra pulled her blaster and fired at the drone.

The room was plunged into darkness.

Over the next few seconds of chaos, Sabine charged forward, slamming herself against one of the stormtroopers. The room was briefly illuminated with blaster fire as the troopers tried to open fire. Sabine darted through the doorway and turned back, but she couldn't see Aphra, or anything, for that matter. Then she felt a hand push against her. "It's me! Go!"

Sabine fumbled her hands outward and brushed against the door. With a loud _CRASH_ , it slammed shut. She could hear Seela and the troopers pounding on it and screaming.

"Well, that'll hold them until their friends show up," Aphra said, somewhere to Sabine's left. "Not sure how it's responding to your touch like that, but that's a mystery for another time. Let's get out of here."

Aphra drew another flare from her pocket and lit it. They walked up the stairs, cautiously listening in case more Imperials were nearby. When they reached the top of the staircase, they found a small troop transport speeder that Seela and her men must have used. Jumping aboard, they drove it back across the wastes towards the  _Ark Angel_. As they arrived at the ship a few minutes later, Sabine heard a sound and looked up to see an Imperial shuttle soaring overheard, in the direction they'd left.

"There's the rest of the party. Let's bounce before they figure out where we went." Aphra leapt behind the pilot's controls and the  _Ark Angel_ flew out of Malachor's orbit, safe and sound.

* * *

As the  _Ark Angel_ returned to  _Home One_ and pulled into the hangar, Sabine finally asked Aphra the question that had been on her mind. "So... who exactly is that Seela woman?"

Aphra rolled her eyes. "She's a criminal. A common thief, a grave robber. I met her back in university and thought she had that same spark of passion for ancient stuff that I had, you know? I mean, I might be a thief too, but at least I actually like to learn about these things before I pawn them off." But when Sabine didn't respond, Aphra sighed. "Don't be jealous. This was years ago. My dad always said I had terrible taste in women, and Seela was the worst. She was a bad influence, to put it politely."

Sabine smiled. "Yeah, I can tell. And now you're a bad influence on me." She gently took Aphra's hand, and that annoying, frustrating, adorable archaeologist smiled back at her, and Sabine knew she wouldn't want Aphra any other way.


	8. The Obliterator

Sabine sat at a table in  _Home One_ 's mess hall, examining the half of the Cylian Cipher she and Aphra had uncovered on Malachor. Two days had passed since the mission, and the other half of the device remained with the Empire. As Sabine mindlessly stirred her soup and stared at the Cipher, Aphra sat down next to her.

"Do you think it's gonna start talking to you?"

Sabine broke her gaze from the Cipher. "Huh?"

"You've been looking over every inch of that thing for two days. Are you waiting for it to start talking or something?"

"This thing is covered in ancient Mandalorian runes. But I can't understand them. It doesn't help that half the Cipher is missing."

Aphra began munching on a piece of toast. "Well yeah," she said, her mouth full. "That's why they split it apart in the first place. So you can't read it without the full thing."

"What's the point of a cipher that leads you to hidden treasure if you can't even read what the cipher says? This Mandalorian script hasn't been used in centuries."

Aphra laughed. "Obviously they didn't know that would happen when they made it, huh?"

"You're not being particularly helpful," Sabine grumbled. "We have no idea where the other half of the Cipher is."

"Oh, don't we?" Aphra gave her a smirk that made Sabine blush a bit. Aphra's unjustified confidence was frustratingly attractive. "Seela and I have an old friend in common who owed me a favor. Long story short, he told me that Seela arrived at Brentaal IV one standard day ago and has been doing some digging, of the metaphorical kind."

"Okay? I doubt the Empire actually let Seela hold on to the other half of the Cipher. They'd keep it in Imperial custody."

Aphra's smirk grew. "And she was accompanied by the Imperial Star Destroyer  _Obliterator_."

"All right," Sabine smiled, patting Aphra's shoulder. "I'll give you this one. But that doesn't explain how we're getting the Cipher out of there, assuming it's onboard."

"Oh don't worry. I've got that covered too." She shoved another piece of toast in her mouth. "But you're gonna have to get rid of the hair dye."

"Why?" As soon as the word left her mouth, Sabine knew what was coming.

"Why else? We're infiltrating a Star Destroyer."

* * *

Sabine examined an Imperial officer's uniform in a requisitions room aboard _Home One_. Sabine and Aphra would be sneaking aboard the _Obliterator_ using Imperial disguises, something that had become such a common Rebel tactic that they actually kept spare Imperial uniforms for such missions. The Empire was fully aware of this strategy, of course, having fallen victim to it so many times, but it was impossible for them to fully prevent because of their decision to use face-obscuring armor and because of how vast their operations were.

The uniform and code cylinder that Sabine was examining belonged to a Lieutenant Paylo Vance, who had been killed in a Rebel attack at an Imperial outpost a few weeks ago. Because of how long it took the Empire to fully update records, it was unlikely that the _Obliterator_ _'_ ssecurity protocols had been updated to reject Vance's clearance. Aphra would be wearing stormtrooper armor, as it was far more likely she would be recognized because of her status as one of the Empire's most wanted. Sabine had removed the dye from her naturally black hair, as she had when infiltrating Skystrike Academy years earlier, and put on Vance's uniform, examining herself in the mirror.

Aphra appeared behind her, wearing the armor of a stormtrooper and holding her helmet under her arm. "Oh  _wow_ ," she purred. "I have got to get you to dress up like this more often."

Sabine laughed and shook her head. "What?" Aphra asked. "I happen to like a lady in uniform. Maybe you can subject to me to some  _disciplinary action_?"

Sabine tried to ignore the fact that Aphra's suggestion sounded rather appealing. "We need to get going. We have no idea how long the _Obliterator_ will remain at Brentaal IV."

"Yes ma'am," Aphra giggled, and Sabine leaned in and gave her a little kiss.

* * *

The truth was that Sabine was incredibly nervous. This undercover mission had a chance of failing miserably, with both of them dead -- or tortured for the location of  _Home One_ , the fleet, and their half of the Cipher. If all went according to plan, they'd be in and out in a short time, but all it would take was one failed security checkpoint, or one person recognizing Sabine, for everything to fall apart.

The pair arrived at the Brentaal system in a stolen  _Lambda_ -class shuttle. Like Lieutenant Vance, their shuttle, the  _Hailfire_ , had recently "gone missing" from an Imperial shipyard on Corellia. As the shuttle approached the _Obliterator_ , a crisp voice came through their communications relay.

"Shuttle  _Hailfire_ , please state your reason for approach."

Sabine cleared her voice and spoke with what she hoped sounded like authority. "This is Lieutenant Paylo Vance of shuttle  _Hailfire_. We were rerouted from a training op on Corellia to provide supplies for the Malachor dig."

"Your orders are out of date,  _Hailfire_ ," the voice said. "The Malachor dig ended a standard day ago."

"Our mistake, we were delayed leaving. If we could refuel, we'll be out of your hair in an hour."

"Affirmative,  _Hailfire_. Cleared for boarding." Sabine looked at Aphra, feeling a rush of adrenaline. The first stage of the plan had worked.

The  _Hailfire_ flew into the _Obliterator_ 'shangar bay. Her heart pounding, Sabine opened the shuttle's ramp and stepped out into the hangar, straightening her back and attempting to mimic the air of an Imperial officer. A deck officer with a datapad approached. Sabine handed over a datacard, which would allow access to the  _Hailfire_ 's hyperdrive readings and prove that the ship had, in fact, recently departed Corellia. As the officers boarded the ship and began to refuel, Sabine and Aphra slipped away, moving through the hangar to a turbolift.

"Well, that's stage two down," Aphra said, once they were safely inside the lift. "Now we just need to find where they're hiding the Cipher."

"Which is a lot easier said than done," Sabine replied. They took the turbolift to another floor where they would be safe from the prying eyes in the hangar.

Sabine approached a terminal that would give them a layout of the ship. As she examined the readout, another officer walked out of an adjacent door. Noticing Sabine and her stormtrooper escort, the older man approached and stood uncomfortably close. His rank insignia indicated that he was a commander.

"Could I help you find something? It's a big ship." He gave Sabine a sickly smile, but she tried to remain cordial. "I've been tasked with bringing an item to Seela Raddula on the surface. She's uncovered something about the artifact search, I think?"

The officer nodded. "Ah, you're referring to that Cipher, no doubt. Seela's work study is off limits to anyone without proper code clearance, unfortunately. Perhaps I could get it for you?"

Sabine opened her mouth, but Aphra spoke first. "Oh, it's in her work study? Wow, idiot, thanks for the info." Before anyone could react, Aphra swung her armored fist right into the man's face, dropping him instantly.

"What was that for?!" Sabine hissed, as she and Aphra quickly grabbed the officer and dragged him back into the room he had exited.

"He could have blown our cover. And he seemed like a total creep." She shrugged. "Maybe I get jealous." Sabine couldn't help but smile before regaining her composure. Returning to the console, Sabine located Seela's work study room on another floor. The pair took the turbolift and quickly located a room with a locked door. They had been on the ship for less than ten minutes; at their current rate, everything was proceeding smoothly.

Aphra easily sliced the door's lock, and they entered, finding themselves in a large workspace with multiple desks and pieces of scientific equipment. "This is pretty interesting stuff," Aphra admitted. "The Empire pays top dollar."

"I still don't understand why the Empire is looking for some ancient Jedi artifact in the first place," Sabine said as she began scouring the room for the Cipher.

"The legends say it harbors some kind of power, but I'm assuming that's just Jedi mumbo-jumbo." Aphra searched through the drawers on each desk, coming up empty. Finally, Sabine opened a large container at the back of the room and found a glass jar that held their prize: the other half of the Cylian Cipher.

"I found it!" Sabine exclaimed, carefully removing the Cipher from the jar. Aphra pulled her half from the munitions belt around her waist and placed it on a table. Sabine slid the second half of the Cipher into place alongside the first half, creating a complete circle. "I still can't quite tell what these runes are. It's all just ancient Mandalorian writing." Aphra removed a piece of paper from her belt and placed it over the assembled Cipher. Producing a graphite pencil, she began to rub it along the paper, producing an impression of the Cipher and its runes underneath.

That was when they heard movement in the hallway outside. Exchanging a quick look, both girls raced to one of the nearby supply closets, Aphra taking her half of the Cipher. They shoved themselves inside right as the door opened. Peering through the crack in the door, they could see Seela Raddula enter the room. She walked straight to the desk, seeing her half of the Cipher laying there, unguarded. Her eyes darted around the room, clearly suspicious. Then her hand went to her belt, producing a comlink. If she called for backup, they'd never get out of here.

Aphra knew it too, which was why she didn't hesitate. In one swift motion, she burst out of the closet, leapt onto the nearest table, and then jumped towards Seela, hurling her helmet like a projectile weapon and hitting the Twi'lek straight in the face.

As Seela stumbled backwards, Aphra lunged and swung her fist. But Seela's reflexes were surprisingly fast, and she blocked the blow, shoving her palm into the center of Aphra's armored chest, knocking her back into the desk. Sabine ran out of hiding, following Aphra's move over the desk, trying to flank from the side, but Seela shot her elbow out and caught Sabine in the ribs, sending her to the floor. Seela laughed and cracked her knuckles.

"Well, isn't this a fun surprise? You ladies decided to pay me a visit?" Her eyes noticed half of the Cipher, which had been in Aphra's hands, now laying on the ground. "Oh, you wanted to bring me the Cipher? How generous." Aphra got to her feet, as did Sabine, and they both took a fighting stance. Sabine swung at Seela from the right, while Aphra went low, trying to knock her off balance. But Seela twirled away, swinging her foot up and kicking Sabine's arm, while Aphra stumbled and suffered one of Seela's fists to her face.

With both girls staggered again, Seela seized her opportunity. She grabbed the piece of the Cipher from the floor, then vaulted over the desk to the other piece. With both in her possession, she made a break for the door, but Sabine tripped her, then rolled over on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

"Oh my," Seela growled, "Ditching Chelli for me, are we?" Before Sabine could react or grab the Cipher pieces that were now laying next to her, Seela headbutted her and then kicked her with both feet, a surprisingly powerful blow that launched Sabine several feet into the wall. Grabbing both Cipher halves again, Seela ran out into the hallway and slammed her fist against the wall-mounted comm system. "Intruders on level B24! Intruders on level B24!" Her voice echoed throughout the ship.

Sabine started to run towards her, but Aphra grabbed her shoulder. "Forget about her! We need to get out of here while we still can!"

"She has the Cipher, the whole thing!"

Aphra brandished her drawing of the runes. "Yeah, so do we! Now  _run_!" The two women ran to the turbolift, while Seela ran in the opposite direction down the hallway, presumably thinking they would give chase. "We've got to get to the ship before Seela tells anyone what we look like." But she didn't need to: Sabine and Aphra both had bruised faces, and Aphra was a stormtrooper with no helmet. As soon as the turbolift arrived in the hangar, every head turned and stared at them.

After several seconds of awkward silence, Aphra gestured to her face. "And this is why you have a safe word, okay kids? My friend here got a little carried away."

The nearest deck officer raised his weapon. "Put your hands in the air and get on your knees."

Sabine grabbed Aphra's hand and bolted, running straight for a large shipping container to use as cover. Around a dozen stormtroopers and several officers all opened fire simultaneously, and the hangar erupted into chaos. Sabine gestured around the room. "Our shuttle will never outrun these guys!"

"I've got an idea," Aphra shouted over the din. "Stay here."

"What?! I'm not letting you run out there by yourself!"

"Just trust me, okay? I'll be fine! Distract these guys and wait for my signal!" Then Aphra hunched down and quickly ran behind another container, making her way around the room. Sabine reluctantly ran in the opposite direction, forcing the troopers to focus their attention on her. She found a blaster laying near one of the TIEs and began to return fire. She noticed Aphra on the other side of the hangar, accessing a small maintenance panel. She was totally exposed, so Sabine kept up the pressure on the stormtroopers, hoping they wouldn't turn and notice Aphra.

Suddenly, one of the TIE fighters rose into the air and began wobbling, unsteady. Then, without warning, it began firing, sending blaster shots everywhere. In the chaos, Sabine ran towards the shuttle, and she saw Aphra doing the same. As the troopers opened fire on the decoy TIE, thinking someone was inside, Sabine and Aphra ran up the  _Hailfire_ 's ramp and began the launch sequence.

"What did you do?" Sabine asked, watching nervously as the TIE's blaster fire raked the inside of the hangar and came dangerously close to the  _Hailfire_.

"Simple remote piloting process," Aphra answered, activating the thrusters. The  _Hailfire_ rose, turned, and began to soar out of the hangar. "It's quick and dirty and won't work for more than a minute or two, but we'll be gone then." The troopers in the hangar, confused as to why two ships were now flying, began firing on both, but the  _Hailfire_ was able to speed away in time. Aphra punched the hyperspace coordinates into the navicomputer and the  _Hailfire_ shot to lightspeed.

* * *

Sabine's heart was still racing as the shuttle arrived at  _Home One_. They had narrowly escaped with their lives, and the Empire was now in possession of both halves of the Cipher. The race was on to determine who could figure out the runes and find the Kybalah.

Sabine was now sitting in her room, looking at Aphra's impression of the completed Cipher. She still couldn't make heads or tails of the markings, but her thoughts were also distracted by another matter. As Aphra entered and sat next to her, Sabine let out a frustrated sigh.

"What's the matter? We'll figure something out with these runes. It's not like the Empire's got any idea either."

Sabine rested her hand on Aphra's leg. "When you ran off like that, I thought for sure you were going to get yourself killed. Just for a second there, I thought..." She paused. "I thought about what it would be like to lose you. After everything we've been through... I know this sounds stupid, but--"

Aphra cut her off. "It doesn't sound stupid. Trust me, I'm the one struggling with the fact that I actually care about someone else more than myself." They both laughed, and then Aphra added: "You make me a better person."

Sabine leaned in and kissed her. "In your own weird way..." she whispered, "You've made me a better person too."

Aphra ran her hands along Sabine's Imperial uniform. "I've got to admit... this uniform is  _really_ doing it for me."

Sabine giggled, then assumed a more authoritarian composure. "Oh yeah?" Then she shoved Aphra back on the bed, climbing on top of her.

Aphra smiled up at her. "Seeing you on top of Seela earlier got me kinda hot, and kinda jealous."

Sabine shut her up with a forceful kiss. "I didn't say you could talk, prisoner."

Aphra grinned. "Oh, _yes ma'am_." Sabine flipped Aphra over and yanked her pants down to her ankles. Slowly kissing along Aphra's soft, firm cheeks, Sabine pulled her panties down and gently slid her tongue along Aphra's folds, already glistening with anticipation. But then an idea occurred to her, and she paused and moved away, wiping her mouth with her hand.

"On second thought... I have a better idea for how to punish my prisoner." Sabine opened her bedside drawer. After Aphra had moved her things into Sabine's room, Sabine had discovered something very interesting: a strap-on, mechanically designed with flexible technology that allowed it to vibrate and please both the wearer and their lover.

Aphra's eyes widened. "Hey, where'd you get that? That's supposed to be--"

Sabine smacked Aphra's ass, gently but with enough force to leave a small mark. "Quiet, prisoner."

Aphra laughed and angled herself on her hands and knees, presenting her ass in Sabine's direction. Sabine wasn't quite sure how the device worked, but it seemed simple enough. She slowly inserted one end of the flexible object into herself, letting out a little moan as she did, and then adjusted the straps around her waist. Slowly, she mounted Aphra from behind, slipping the flexible cock deep inside her. Aphra squealed and dug her hands into the bedsheets as Sabine began to thrust, gently at first, then faster, feeling sensation inside herself as the device's vibration kicked in.

"Mmmm...  _stars, yes_..." Aphra groaned, bucking her hips in rhythm with Sabine's thrusts.

Sabine leaned over Aphra, one hand on her back and the other gripping her ass. "You like this, don't you?" she growled. "You like letting your mistress use you like a toy?"

Aphra buried her face in the pillow, her voice muffled. "Yes...  _kriffing hell_ yes..." After a few more seconds of thrusting, Sabine pulled out and rolled Aphra over onto her back, then climbed on top again, sliding herself back inside her lover. Aphra put her hands on Sabine's chest, still covered by the officer uniform, and moaned in ecstasy as Sabine took her, harder and faster. " _Please_ mistress, please, please, it feels so good..." The vibration of the strap-on increased, and Sabine's thrusting increased, and Aphra balled her fists into Sabine's uniform, and both girls screamed in unison as they came together.

Sabine collapsed onto Aphra's chest. Both were breathing heavily, their hair sticking to their sweat-soaked faces. Aphra gently ran her hands through Sabine's hair, which was still black. "As much as I love the colors," she panted, gazing into Sabine's eyes, "I could get used to this too." Sabine smiled and pushed her face into Aphra's neck, giving it a soft kiss, and then the words tumbled out of her mouth, smoothly and effortlessly:

"I love you, Chelli."

There was no hesitation in Aphra's response. "I love  _you_ , Sabine."

They remained there for what seemed like an eternity, their bodies perfectly tangled, until they fell asleep together.


	9. Mandalore

Over the next week, Sabine studied the runes on the Cylian Cipher -- or rather, Aphra's impression of it -- but she remained no closer to figuring out their secrets. The Rebel fleet's best codebreakers were busy trying to solve a variety of new encrypted Imperial communications that had been designated priority one by Mon Mothma, so they couldn't spare anyone to help. Aphra, who had moved into Sabine's room, had been providing the fleet with any information she had regarding criminal elements in the Outer Rim who might be able to help with their mission to rescue Han.

Finally, with no other recourse, Sabine came to Aphra with a plan.

"We need to go to Mandalore."

Aphra was pouring over an intelligence report; she'd passed her probationary period and earned enough trust to be allowed access to some basic intel. "What are we looking for? Did you figure out the cipher?"

"No, but if there's anyone in the galaxy who could figure it out, it'd be Kendo Kryze."

Kendo Kryze was a cousin of Satine and Bo-Katan Kryze. A scholar and historian, Kendo was educated on the long conflicts between the warring Mandalorian clans. Sabine explained that Kendo lived with some other distant members of Clan Kryze in a bunker a few kilometers outside the capital city of Sundari.

"It's worth a shot," Aphra said. "Hopefully the Empire hasn't gotten to her first."

* * *

The  _Ark Angel_ touched down at Sundari's spaceport. Mandalore had been liberated from the Empire, but its new government remained distrusting of offworlders, for obvious reasons. Aphra had only been allowed to land because Sabine was with her.

As they descended, they were met by Bo-Katan Kryze, flanked by three armored guards.

"Sabine Wren. It's good to see you again. What brings you to Mandalore?"

Sabine produced the impression of the Cylian Cipher. "We're going to need to speak with your cousin, Kendo. It's a long story, but this cipher leads to something the Empire wants. So we're getting it before they do."

Bo-Katan examined the paper. "These are definitely ancient Mandalorian runes. I'll get you and your companion a speeder and call ahead to tell Kendo you're coming."

Sabine thanked Bo-Katan, and then she and Aphra boarded the speeder, heading west from Sundari. They had been riding only a few minutes when the looming shape of the Clan Kryze bunker appeared on the horizon. The pair exited the speeder and approached the heavy blast door protecting the bunker.

"Halt! Who approaches?" A voice boomed from inside the bunker.

"My name is Sabine of Clan Wren. I have urgent business with Kendo of Clan Kryze."

"We were told to expect your arrival, Sabine Wren. You may enter."

The huge door swung open on a mechanical hinge. Sabine and Aphra entered to find themselves in a dark chamber. A series of tunnels led underground to the various living areas. After being greeted by two heavily armed guards, Sabine and Aphra were led into the bowels of the bunker, to a library room filled with books and tables. An older woman with greying hair was seated at one of them, examining a rock with a magnifying glass.

"Kendo?" Sabine stepped forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt. My name is --"

"Sabine Wren. Yes, Bo-Katan told me. You have some kind of cipher you want me to see?" Kendo didn't look away from the rock she was fiddling with. "Let's get on with it. I don't have all day."

Sabine approached Kendo and placed the paper impression of the cipher on the table. Kendo glanced at it, then returned to her business. Then, suddenly, she looked back at the paper with renewed interest.

"Wait... is this..."

"The Cylian Cipher! Yes, yes, we found it." Aphra beamed. "Very impressive, aren't we?"

"You found it?" Kendo looked up at them. "I'm fairly certain this is a piece of paper, not a cipher."

Aphra scratched her head. "Well, uh, it's an impression of the cipher, which we did have before the Empire stole it."

Kendo's eyes widened. "The Empire is looking for the Kybalah?"

"Yeah, but it's probably just Palpatine wanting a new wall decoration." Aphra shrugged.

"No, child, you don't understand," Kendo snapped. "The Kybalah is not some simple artifact. It's a  _weapon_. We cannot allow the Empire to get their hands on it."

"You did mention something about a legendary power," Sabine reminded Aphra. "If this thing is some kind of weapon, we've got to find it first. Can you read the runes?"

Kendo nodded. "The script is a series of coordinates, or rather, what Mandalorians used as coordinates before adopting the galactic standard numeral system." She grabbed a datapad and began to type. "Let me see if I can figure out where they lead."

Sabine approached and watched over Kendo's shoulder. "We started this hunt on Malachor. Do you know why the Mandalorians hid part of the cipher there?"

"Thousands of years ago, as you know, the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders fought the Jedi. The Kybalah was a weapon the Jedi used against them. It was stored on Malachor for many years, lost to time. A few hundred years ago, some Mandalorian clans sought to find it. History doesn't tell us what happened, but..."

"They found it," Aphra piped up. "There was newer Mandalorian script on the puzzles at Malachor. At some point in the last few centuries, a Mandalorian clan must have found the Kybalah and split the Cylian Cipher in half so that only their heirs could locate it."

"So where do the coordinates lead?" Sabine asked.

Kendo looked up from the drawing. "Where else? Here on Mandalore, of course."

* * *

Sabine and Aphra rode their speeder out to the coordinates, in a random part of Mandalore's desolate surface. "Well, we're here," Sabine said, checking the coordinates on the speeder's navicomputer. "But there's nothing around."

Aphra hopped off the speeder and began closely examining the dirt. "It's obviously underground. We just have to figure out how to get down there."

Sabine noticed a lone, leafless tree around twenty meters away. "That's odd," she muttered. Mandalore had little vegetation or signs of life following the cataclysmic wars that had ravaged its surface years earlier. Approaching the small tree, Sabine noticed the faint impression of a handprint on the bark. She pressed her hand into the impression and felt a slight warmth, as if it was being scanned by a laser.

Behind her, the ground began to shake. Aphra leapt back as a massive staircase, similar to the one on Malachor, opened into the ground. "What'd you do?"

Sabine gestured to the tree. "It's like on Malachor. The doors respond to my bio-signatures. Mandalorian tech."

"You really do come in handy," Aphra grinned. "Maybe Seela was right and you  _are_ my pet Mandalorian after all."

Sabine gave her a wink. "Let's get down there and find this thing once and for all."

As they moved down the staircase, the hole they had entered through suddenly closed, plunging them into darkness. A moment later, illumination filled the space, glowing blue and green lights guiding them down the stairs. They reached another door, which opened to Sabine's touch. Then they stepped through...

...and found themselves in a massive cavern, the ceiling hundreds of feet above them, the same glowing green and blue lights emanating from the walls and bathing the entire area in an ethereal glow.

"This is incredible," Sabine said, craning her neck to look at the ceiling. "This has been down here for centuries and nobody knew?"

Aphra laughed. "I've gotten you addicted to the thrill of archaeology, haven't I?"

Sabine was going to respond before she noticed something. The huge cavern was entirely empty, save for a plinth at the center of the room on a suspended bridge. As they approached, they could see that the plinth had an object resembling an astrolabe set into the surface: multiple circular rings engraved with numerals.

"Great.  _Another_ puzzle?" Sabine put her hands on her hips.

"That's how this works, sweetheart. Always another puzzle." Aphra examined the rings, moving them with her fingers. "These rings can be arranged to locate stars in the night sky, but I have no idea what we're supposed to be looking for."

Sabine noted a single symbol set into the center of the astrolabe. It was a rune that had been used since antiquity, even in modern Mandalore. Sabine recognized it instantly. "Heart."

"Hm?"

"That symbol, there. It means heart. Not like your literal heart, but the 'heart' of a warrior, your courage. All Mandalorian tribes, back when they were still one united front, had a saying: that if you were ever lost, look inside your heart and follow the Trident Star, and it will guide you home to Mandalore."

Aphra rubbed her chin. "Okay, but what's that have to do with this?"

"The Trident Star isn't a star, it's three stars shaped like a trident if you look at them from certain solar systems like Mandalore. If we arrange the dials..." Sabine moved the rings of the astrolabe. "...that's how the Trident Star appears in the sky from Mandalore."

"Okay, but nothing's happening."

Sabine paused to think. "Right... we're already on Mandalore. We're not looking for Mandalore, we're looking for something  _away_ from Mandalore. So we need to flip the perspective." Sabine switched the dials.

Almost immediately, the cavern began to shake. The astrolabe plinth descended into the ground, and the blue and green lights flashed, projecting something on the walls.

"It's a starchart!" Aphra exclaimed. She pointed to a glowing star on one of the walls. "That must be it. What star is that?"

Sabine entered the coordinates for the star into her datapad and handed it to Aphra. "This is it," she breathed. "The Mandalorians hid the Kybalah here. I know it. Now we just have to get to it."

Sabine opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say was silenced by a loud  _BOOM_. The cavern shook as dust and rocks fell from the ceiling.

Aphra turned to Sabine. "What the hell was--"

 _BOOM!_ The cavern shook again, and sunlight poured in as chunks of the ceiling collapsed. Dark figures rappelled down the holes, and as they came into the light from the walls, Sabine and Aphra could make out the distinctive appearance of stormtrooper armor. A third explosion brought half the ceiling down, and Aphra shoved Sabine aside as a piece of rubble crashed to the ground a few feet away.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Aphra shouted, pulling Sabine to her feet. They were still standing on the bridge, suspended over a dark pit in the cave.

"How did they find us?!" Sabine yelled.

That question was answered almost immediately as a small Imperial troop transport hovered into the cave through the hole. Seela hopped off the transport and casually approached.

"I'm not sure how  _you_ ladies got in here, but we just asked a couple Mandalorian prisoners very politely if they knew how to decode those runes on the cipher."

"Well great job, you stupid nerf herder," Aphra pointed to the walls. "You brought half the cave down, so now you can't see the starchart. Maybe try a gentler touch?"

Seela gave a wicked grin. "You were never one for gentle touches yourself, Chelli. I guess your pet has softened you?"

"Would you just put an end to this already?" Aphra growled. "I'm tired of you following us everywhere like a lost tooka." As Aphra spoke, Sabine noted that she was eyeing the walls and floor, looking for an escape route or something to use as a diversion. She hoped Seela hadn't noticed too.

"No, you're right. I've grown bored of this. Following you is fun, but we don't need you anymore. I assume that datapad you're holding has the starchart we need." She raised her blaster and pointed it at Aphra. "This really is going to hurt me inside, Chelli."

"Wait!" Aphra raised her hands, throwing the datapad on the ground. "You can take the datapad, but you still need us. Face it, you're going to find  _another_ puzzle or death trap or something and then you're going to think 'Boy, I sure wish I kept Aphra around instead of smearing her brains on the walls of that cave.'" Sabine noted a distinct bit of panic seeping into Aphra's voice. "And besides... didn't Vader want me alive? To kill me himself?"

Seela paused for several seconds, thinking it over. "You're right. You haven't quite outlived your usefulness yet."

Sabine let out a little sigh of relief.

"The thing is, I don't really need  _her_."

Then Seela turned the blaster and fired, and Sabine tumbled backwards over the edge of the bridge into the darkness.


	10. The Kybalah

The first thing Sabine felt as she woke was pain, not in her gut where she had been shot, but in her head.

She had fallen off the bridge into the darkness of the chamber, she remembered that much. She'd no doubt fallen unconscious. But now, as she slowly looked around, bright light filling her eyes, she realized she was somewhere else entirely.

"Well, you sure took a fall, didn't you?"

Sabine's eyes adjusted to the light. Kendo Kryze was standing over her. She reached forward and adjusted a bacta bandage that was strapped around Sabine's stomach, where Seela had shot her. As her brain fully regained consciousness, Sabine blurted the first thought that came to her mind.

"Where's Chelli?!"

Kendo stepped back. "Your friend wasn't there, I'm afraid. I had to wait until the Empire moved out. When we saw them coming, Bo-Katan scrambled the fighters, but they were gone by the time we arrived."

Sabine's heart was racing. "They found the Kybalah. They took her, and they're going to kill her after they find it." Her head was in splitting pain now, but she didn't care. "We have to find them. We have to track them or some--"

"Why track them when we have this?" Kendo reached behind the bed Sabine was laying on and pulled out a datapad. It was Aphra's, the one she had used to write down the coordinates to the Kybalah. "She must have thrown it in after you, so you'd know where to go."

"And where are we going, exactly?" Another voice came from the doorway. It was Bo-Katan, dressed in full Mandalorian armor, her helmet at her side.

"No." Sabine shook her head. "No, you're not coming. It's not safe. I have to go alone."

Kendo barked a laugh. "Really? It's not safe, so you're going to get yourself killed without help? That bump on your head must be worse than I thought."

"Mandalore's military is still too weak to take on the Empire directly," Bo-Katan admitted. "But we can provide support. We can get you to the Kybalah, provide backup, and get you and your friend -- and whatever that thing turns out to be -- out of there."

Sabine slowly got to her feet. The bacta bandage helped dull the pain from her gut wound, but it wasn't a perfect fix. Ideally, she'd need a few days of bedrest, but they couldn't afford that.

"Okay," she said. "Let's get going."

* * *

The  _Ark Angel_ dropped out of hyperspace at the coordinates from Aphra's datapad. At first, they saw nothing. Then, as the ship swung in a wide angle, it appeared before them.

Lurking in the pitch black of space was a grey space station, long and thin, made of some kind of metal Sabine couldn't recognize. It almost resembled a lightsaber hilt in its design. Floating next to the station was the  _Obliterator_.

"Hyperdrive signs on that ship indicate it only just got here a few minutes ago," Bo-Katan said. The Mandalorian leader and six of her best warriors were crammed into the  _Ark Angel_ 's cargo bay, ready to deploy once Sabine located the Kybalah. "Get in there, find the Kybalah, find Aphra, and then contact us. We'll extract you."

Sabine put on her helmet and nodded. Confidence and adrenaline surged through her. One thought consumed all others:

The entire Imperial fleet would not be able to stop her from rescuing Chelli.

_I am coming for my girlfriend, you kriffing bucketheads._

The  _Ark Angel_ deftly flew below the  _Obliterator_ to a docking port on the side of the station. The entire structure was relatively small, dwarfed by the Star Destroyer next to it. It was too dangerous for the  _Ark Angel_ to remain docked, so Sabine floated out through the cargo bay, propelling herself through the weightlessness of space and onto the docking bay. She gave a salute to the ship, which pulled out to a safe distance. Then she entered through a door, one that looked surprisingly modern.

Inside was a long hallway, poorly illuminated. The lighting fixtures had mostly burned out centuries ago, Sabine guessed. Luckily, her helmet had built-in low-light vision capabilities, so she could see clearly. Heading down the hallway, she was surprised at the sleek, metallic design that was more similar to that of the Empire than any Jedi architecture she was familiar with. At the end of the hallway was another door with a turbolift. The controls, worn but still functional, showed only one direction: down.

The turbolift plunged into the depths of the station, and Sabine could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Every second she wasted was another second closer to Aphra's inevitable death.

The lift arrived at the only floor it was programmed for. Sabine silently thanked the ancient Jedi for building a space station that was so easy to navigate. As she exited the lift, she found herself in a large, open room, similar to the vault on Mandalore. A high, arched ceiling was overhead, with a long bridge extending to the center of the room over a void. Five stormtroopers, their white armor sticking out in stark contrast to the black floor and walls, were walking along the bridge in formation.

Fiddling with some controls on a console at the center of the bridge were Aphra and Seela.

"Would you just let me figure this out?" Aphra snapped.

Seela let out a loud sigh that echoed off the walls. "You're stalling for time, Chelli."

Sabine moved forward, hiding in the shadows of a large pillar. The bridge was still another ten meters away, and Chelli and Seela another ten meters beyond that, at the center of the walkway.

"This is ancient Jedi technology. Do I look like a Jedi to you?" Aphra was looking the console over. "These switches do nothing. It's like the station isn't powered."

Aphra looked around the room, and that was when she noticed Sabine. A quick smile flashed over her face before she regained her composure.

"The turbolift worked," Seela said, unaware. "The station has power." She pushed Aphra aside and began inspecting a hole at the center of the console. Sabine tried to move forward, but there was no cover beyond her vantage point.

"There's scorching along the inside of this hole," Seela noted, running her finger along the inside. "It's like a..."

Aphra lit up. "Like the hole left by a lightsaber! Of course!" She slapped her forehead. Sabine felt somewhat annoyed that Aphra was legitimately trying to help figure out the weapon, but her archaeological instincts must have taken over. "It's a Jedi weapon! It's powered by kyber crystal energy!" She turned to Seela. "We need a lightsaber!"

At that moment, Sabine felt as though all the air had been sucked out of the room. A chill came over her entire body. The chamber fell silent, and the next sound was echoed off every wall: a deep, rasping, mechanical breathing, instantly recognizable.

Aphra and Seela turned around, facing another door at the opposite end of the room. A turbolift had opened, and a jet-black figure emerged.

Vader strode with a purpose down the bridge toward the console. Sabine, watching from the other end of the room, felt terror fill every part of her brain.  _This was not part of the plan._

The fear on Aphra's face was visible even from Sabine's distance. She let out a weak "Hey, boss, long time no see," but Vader completely ignored her, moving right past her to examine the console. Slowly, he removed a black object from his belt, and Aphra flinched, but then in one movement Vader swung the object into the air, shoved it into the center of the console, and pressed a button. The glow of red energy filled the device.

And nothing happened.

Vader deactivated the lightsaber and placed it back on his belt. There was silence for several seconds. Then Aphra began to laugh, first slowly, then louder, her voice echoing throughout the chamber. "Oh my  _stars_ , this is amazing."

Seela looked at her like she was insane. "Would you care to share your insight with the rest of us?"

Aphra was grinning. "According to old legends, Sith Lords do this thing called 'bleeding' to Jedi kyber crystals in order to make those red lightsabers. The Jedi must have accounted for that in the design of the station." She started to laugh again. "Your lightsaber  _won't work_!"

Vader continued staring at the device while Aphra chortled. "What I wouldn't give to see the look on your face right now. Honestly, just kill me now, nothing's going to get better than this. I guess you won't be able to find the Kybalah, Darth. What a shame."

Finally, Vader spoke, his mechanically modulated voice low. "You are wrong on two counts, doctor. One: I have already found the Kybalah." He slowly turned to Aphra. "It is this entire station."

Aphra swallowed her fear as she looked up at Vader. "The entire station is a weapon?"

"Powered by kyber crystal energy. The design is...familiar." Vader paused, and Aphra filled in the blanks.

"Like a miniature Death Star." She paused. "And... the second reason I'm wrong?"

"I will not be the one to activate this weapon." He moved closer, and Aphra took a step back, nearly falling off the bridge into the abyss. Vader's next words reverberated through the room.

" _Where is Skywalker?_ "

Aphra shifted uncomfortably. "You want that kid to activate it? Why not just... kill him and take his lightsaber?"

"If you will not give Skywalker's location to me, I will be glad to torture it from you." He turned to the stormtroopers standing on the bridge. "There are hyperdrive controls located on the floor above. Inform your men that we will be moving the station to the coordinates I will provide."

From her hiding spot, Sabine could see Aphra's eyes widen. And then the next words she spoke came tumbling out, crystal clear.

"He's your son."

The chamber fell completely silent but for Vader's breathing. Vader, his back to Aphra, remained unmoved. Sabine's mind was racing. What the hell was Aphra talking about?

"I've been wondering this for three years... why you wanted to capture Luke and not kill him..." Aphra was speaking faster now. "Anakin Skywalker discovered the Kybalah data on Onderon...you had me hunting down info on Luke's mother, Senator Amidala..."

Only now did Vader turn back to her, still silent. Aphra's voice was laced with nervous fear. "You want Luke to help you use this thing, and you're taking it to coordinates only you know. You're not taking it back to the Emperor. You're going to  _use it against him_."

The room remained quiet. The stormtroopers were looking at each other with confusion, while Seela's brow was furrowed, no doubt trying to come up with a plan.

Finally, Vader spoke. "Your powers of deduction remain impressive, doctor. To the very end."

Aphra's eyes darted to Seela. "Seela, listen to me. He's going to try and overthrow the Emperor. You think he's going to let anybody in here live with that knowledge? Help me get out of--"

That was when Aphra's voice cut out, and she began to gag as she was lifted into the air. Vader's hand clenched at his side as Aphra choked, kicking her feet in vain, and Seela hesitated for just a moment before making a break for the door, but she only made it a few feet before she, too, began to float, gasping for air.

There wasn't going to be another opportunity.

Sabine stepped out from her hiding spot, leaned down, and pressed a button on her wrist controls. The rocket pack on her back ignited, firing a missile straight into the ceiling. The resulting blast caused massive chunks of metal and rubble to rain down on the room below, smashing straight through the control console. Vader was forced to drop Aphra and Seela as he threw his hands up, using the Force to prevent the rubble from falling on him. Sabine drew her blasters and launched a volley of laser fire at the stormtroopers, who were caught completely off guard.

Aphra got to her feet and raced past Seela towards Sabine. "Took you long enough!" she said, grinning from ear to ear.

Sabine continued firing on the troopers. "You really got yourself into a mess this time, huh?" As Vader hurled aside the rocks he was holding, Sabine shouted into her comlink. "Bo-Katan, we need that evac  _now_!"

Vader turned toward them and was about to approach when the entire station shook, knocking him off balance. In the bowels of the abyss below them, they could see burning green energy.

"The Kybalah is unstable!" Aphra screamed over the din. "We have to take this thing down!"

Right on cue, the  _Ark Angel_ hurtled in through the hole in the ceiling, hovering above the fray. Vader turned and raised his hand, and the  _Ark Angel_ opened fire. Each laser blast was deflected by Vader's command of the Force, slamming into adjacent walls and the ceiling.

"Bo-Katan!" Sabine yelled into her comm. "Fire below the bridge!"

Vader ignited his crimson lightsaber as the  _Ark Angel_ fired two missiles straight past him and into the void. The resulting explosions sent spurts of green energy soaring into the air. The Kybalah shook, the station's walls rattling. A second volley of missiles into the heart of the station sent a massive explosion throughout the room, annihilating the bridge and sending Vader plunging into the darkness.

The entire room was on fire now, orange flames mixed with sparkling green kyber energy. The  _Ark Angel_ turned and the back ramp opened.

"Come on!" Aphra shouted. "We've got to jump, now!"

They were standing on the edge of the room as the  _Ark Angel_ hovered over the flames. It was a long jump, and Sabine could feel the terror overwhelming her. Then Aphra took her hand, and Sabine looked into her eyes, and the fear dissolved. "Do you trust me?" Aphra said, her voice barely audible over the roar of the explosions.

Sabine didn't hesitate. "Absolutely."

Aphra nodded, and then took Sabine's hand, and they ran forward and jumped, hanging in the air for an eternity until they landed on the  _Ark Angel_ 's ramp.

As they got to their feet, Sabine turned and saw Seela struggling to hang on to what remained of the bridge. "Bo-Katan, turn the ship around!" Sabine called. The ship swung 180 degrees so that the ramp was facing Seela. Sabine reached out, but Seela was still a good five feet away. "Jump! Take my hand!"

Seela looked over her shoulder at them as she clung to the bridge. "I've waited my whole life to find this place... I'd rather spend eternity here than rot in a Rebel jail."

Sabine started to shout "No!", but it was too late, and Seela closed her eyes and let go, falling and disappearing into the abyss.

Aphra grabbed Sabine and pulled her back as the ramp began to close. They saw Vader climbing up the wreckage. "We need to go  _now!_ Punch it!" Aphra screamed. She and Sabine ran inside the cargo bay as the ramp closed, and the  _Ark Angel_ flew out of the hole and into space. Sabine and Aphra ran into the cockpit, where Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian warriors were watching the  _Obliterator_ as it attempted to move away from the badly damaged Kybalah station.

"Everybody hold on to something!" Bo-Katan yelled, and the  _Ark Angel_ soared away from the Kybalah right as the entire station was consumed with green energy. The resulting explosion tore through the  _Obliterator_ , ripping the Star Destroyer in half.

"That shockwave is gonna hit us any second now! Get to lightspeed!" Aphra ordered. Bo-Katan didn't hesitate, grabbing the thruster and sending the  _Ark Angel_ into the void of hyperspace right as the energy hurtled towards them.

Sabine finally exhaled and realized she had been digging her hands into Aphra's arm. She let go, and Aphra laughed.

It was done. The threat of the Kybalah was gone. For now, just for this short moment, the galaxy was safe.

* * *

"This was my idea, General."

Sabine attempted to project confidence as she and Aphra stood in  _Home One_ 's control room. Leia had her back to them, shaking her head.

"You went on a series of unauthorized missions dealing with an Imperial superweapon and didn't bother to inform me?"

Aphra raised her hand. "Technically it was a  _Jedi_ superweapon, ma'am."

Leia turned to them. "This was incredibly dangerous. Not only could you have gotten yourselves killed, but who knows what would have happened if Vader had been able to get his hands on that weapon, regardless of whether he was going to use it on the Rebellion or the Emperor." She paused for a moment. "With that being said, I'm glad you were able to destroy it. The two of you have been an influence on each other, I can tell." She looked at Aphra. "Doctor, you've earned my trust. Whatever our past differences, I'm glad you're a part of our Alliance."

Aphra nodded. "Thanks, Princess. Er, General. Ma'am." She gave an awkward salute that made Sabine laugh.

That was when Luke entered the room. He had abandoned his usual light attire and was now dressed in black, with a glove over his mechanical hand. "Sabine, Aphra, I'm glad to see you. Could I speak to you for a moment?"

The pair excused themselves and left the room with Luke. As they walked down the hallway, he drew the small holorecording of Anakin Skywalker from his pocket.

"I wanted to thank you again for giving this to me. I never knew my father as he once was." He gave them a look. "But I know him as he is now. And I can sense that you do as well."

Sabine and Aphra gave each other a look. Then Aphra spoke. "Vader...is your father?"

Luke nodded calmly. "He is. Or he says that is. I can't be sure. But I could sense the truth in him when he spoke to me."

"I'm sorry, Luke," Sabine said. "I don't know what you must be feeling."

Luke looked past Sabine at Aphra. "Actually, I feel...confident. Aphra, you were once an enemy of this Rebellion. You did things that we could never abide. But you've changed and become a better person, a valuable member of our cause, and a friend. Maybe..." His voice trailed off. "Maybe there is still a good man inside Vader too."

Aphra snorted. "I wouldn't count on it, Luke. That guy is beyond gone."

Luke smiled. "All things are possible with the Force. No one is ever really gone." He put his hand on Aphra's shoulder, then walked away down the hall.

Aphra shrugged. "Weird guy. I like him, but yeah, kind of strange."

They had come to a window overlooking the stars. Sabine put her arm around Aphra's waist. "You and I have come a long way, Doctor Aphra."

"We found the Kybalah. Centuries of ancient mystery, and we were the ones to learn the truth." Aphra grinned. "This is why I love this stuff!"

Sabine blushed. "I agree, this is kind of addicting. You've made an archaeologist out of me."

Aphra lay her head on Sabine's shoulder. "Hard to believe this began with an intel sale. And I never thought I'd actually join this dumb little band of rebels."

"I knew you had it in you. You might be a bit of a rogue...but you're  _my_ rogue."

They turned to each other, and Sabine leaned in and pulled Aphra in for a kiss, their first since the adventure to the Kybalah. It was long and sweet and perfect, like little fireworks going off.

"I love you," Sabine whispered.

"I love  _you_ ," Aphra replied.

There was no telling what the future would hold. The Empire still loomed large over the galaxy and victory seemed elusive. But Sabine Wren had found a rock to hold on to, someone with whom her life would be linked forever, and that was all she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now! This is the end of the current storyline. I have ideas for future chapters, but they will likely come after Star Wars Rebels is complete and we have a better idea where the rest of the Ghost crew ended up. Thank you for reading and your feedback and there will be more to come soon!


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